
ECLECTIC SCHOOL READINGS 





THE SPANISH 

IN THE 

SOUTHWEST 







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ECLECTIC SCHOOL READINGS 

THE SPANISH IN THE 
SOUTHWEST 



BY 



ROSA V. WINTERBURN 



NEW YORK-:- CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAR 21 1903 

(\ Copyright Entry 
fcLASS ^ XX©. No. 
COPY S. ' _ 



Copyright, 1903, by 
ROSA V. WINTERBURN. 

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London. 



SPANISH IN SOUTHWEST. 
W. P. I 



- 1 



€o iHg f&usbatrti 

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

From the simplicity of the Indians, through the biogra- 
phies of gold-seeking Spaniards and the indolence of the 
Spanish occupation, to the complexities of the constitu- 
tional era, runs this writing. To have been purely his- 
torical by omitting the story element would have taken 
the work out of the realm of the children for whom it is 
intended ; to have presented only incidents and biogra- 
phies would have destroyed historical values. So the 
book is indeed a story of history, a collection of stories 
selected and arranged to present historical characteristics 
and tendencies of periods. 

Believing that to some extent the form of narration 
should follow the psychological development of the sub- 
ject treated, the manner of telling the story has been 
steadily adapted to meet conditions. Simple and childlike 
when writing of the Indians; biographical in the early 
days before the efforts of an individual were reckoned 
into the sum of activities ; thoughtful and reasoning in 
the difficulties of the contact with foreigners. 

If the children of the Pacific slope read and enjoy, 
finding in and between the lines an uprising of love and 
respect for their glorious country, and of determined 
loyalty in the protection of its honor and morality, this 
little book will have fulfilled its mission. 

R. V. W. 



CONTENTS 

I. BEFORE THE COMING OF THE SPANISH 

CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Indian Life in California 9 

Homes. Food. Catching wild fowl and animals. Fishing. 
Clothing. Quarrels and battles. Diseases and their treatment. - 
Games. Result of the coming of the white men. 

CHARTER II 

Indian Legends 27 

Legend of creation. How man was made. How tire was 
brought to the Indians. A legend of the geysers. 

II. DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS 

CHAPTER III 
Cortes 43 

On the coast of Mexico. Messengers from Montezuma. March 
to the city of Mexico. Meeting of Cortes and Montezuma. Mon- 
tezuma a prisoner. I lis submission to the Spanish king. Attempt 
of the Aztecs to drive the Spaniards out of the city. Death of 
Montezuma. Character of Cortes. Use of the name California. 
The island of California. 

CHAPTER IV 
Reports of the Seven Cities 57 

Story told by Tejos. Army started north. Cabe/.a de Yaca. 
New enthusiasm about the seven cities. 

CHAPTER V 

Fkay Marcos de \i/.a 64 

Fray Marcos starts to find the seven cities. Deato «>t" Stephen. 
A glimpse of the seven cities. Wonderful accounts to the governor 

of Mexico. Three expeditions started north. 

5 



Contents 



CHAPTER VI 

PAGE 

CORONADO AND ALARCON 68 

Coronado's army. Disappointments. Cibola. Journey to Qui- 
vira. Land of the "wild cows." Letter to the king of Spain. 
Treatment of Coronado on his return to Mexico. The failure of 
Alarcon to meet Coronado. 

CHAPTER VII 

The Spanish Claim to the Pacific Ocean 79 

Reasons for early voyages to the west. Discoveries by Spain 
and Portugal. Quarrel between the two nations. The Pope's divi- 
sion of the unknown world between them. New quarrels in the 
Philippines. Long voyages of the Spanish ships. Reasons for 
exploring the North Pacific. 

CHAPTER VIII 
Cabrillo and Viscaino 83 

Cabrillo's voyage into the North Pacific. Ports taken possession 
of for Spain. Severe weather. Death of Cabrillo. His commands 
to his pilot. Viscaino. Retraverses Cabrillo's voyage. Sailors 
charmed with Monterey. Failure to find the Straits of Anian. 
Report to the king of Spain. 

CHAPTER IX 

The English in the North Pacific 89 

English privateers. Drake and the Golden Hind. Search for 
the Straits of Anian. Vessel repaired near San Francisco Bay. 
Relations with the Indians. Country claimed for England. Named 
New Albion. Farewell to the Indians. Reception of Drake in 
England. 

III. THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 

CHAPTER X 
The Desire of a Youth 97 

Youth of Father Serra. Desire to be a missionary. Friendship 
with Fathers Palou and ( Irespi. Voyage across the Atlantic. Walk 
from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. Beginning of Father Serra's 
long illness. 



Contents 



CHAPTER XI 

PAGE 

Expeditions into Alta California 101 

Determination of Spain to settle Upper, or Alta, California. 
Priests permitted to accompany soldiers. Eather Serra made presi- 
dent of the missions of Alta California. Expeditions started by 
Governor Galvez. Father Serra delayed by illness. His visit with 
Father Palou. His illness after overtaking the company. Arrival 
at San Diego. 

CHAPTER XII 

Founding of San Diego Mission 109 

Company started for Monterey. San Diego mission founded. 
Greed of the natives. Their thefts. Attack on the mission. New 
hopes of converts. Disappointments. Father Serra's self-accu- 
sations. 

CHAPTER XIII 

The Search for Monterey Bay 11S 

Failure to recognize the bay. San Francisco Bay visited. Dis- 
couragements. Return to San Diego. New discouragements. 
Anxious watch for the San Antonio. Monterey Bay found. 
Establishment of the mission. Country claimed for Spain. 

CHAPTER XIV 

The Last Days of Father Serra 125 

Father Serra's busy life. His final illness. Arrival of Father 

Palou. Death of Father Serra. Grief of the Indians and the 
Spaniards. 

CHAPTER XV 

Life at the Missions 129 

Reasons for establishing missions. Supplies. Founding new- 
missions. Attempts to win the confidence « > f the Indians. Mission 
buildings. Estates. Early sufferings. Irrigation. Daily routine. 
The Indians under the orders of the ehureh. Work done by the 
Indians. Their teaching. Punishments. Amusements. ( >1<1 
superstitions. Hospitality of the missionaries. Gifts from visitor^. 



Contents 



CHAPTER XVI 

PAGE 

The Slavery of the Missions 152 

Failure of the Spanish king's plan for the missions. Reasons. 
Meaning of " mission slavery." Affection between the Indians and 
the early priests. Two periods of mission history. General peace 
during the " era of calm." Cruelty and rebellion during the era of 
resistance. Approach of secularization. 

CHAPTER XVII 
Secularization 161 

Meaning of secularization. Objections of the priests to state 
control. Untimely knowledge of the Indians of the plan. Law 
put into effect. Results. Indians scattered. Relapse into savagery. 
Ruin of the mission system. 



IV. SPANISH CALIFORNIA 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 171 

Pueblos. Pueblo of Los Angeles. Food. Entertainments. 
Dress. Horses and horsemanship. Carriages. A Spanish school. 
Life on the ranches. Cattle raising. Rodeos. Matanzas. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Foreigners on the Pacific Coast 191 

Foreigners tempted by valuable furs. Contraband trade. Pirates. 
Illegal trade with the Russians and the Americans. Jedediah S. 
Smith. More foreigners. 

CHAPTER XX 

Spanish Governors of California . . . . f .201 

Royal governors and military commanders. Portola. Borica. 
Sola. Echeandia. Victoria. Three governors at one time. 
Figueroa. Chico. Guttierrez. Revolution. Independence from 
Mexico. AlvaradOj Vallejo, and (astro. Return to Mexican au- 
thority. Alvarado again. Micheltorena. Seizure and restoration 
of Monterey by Commodore Jones. More rebellions. Pio Pico 
made governor. More Americans. 



THE SPANISH IN THE SOUTHWEST 



I. BEFORE THE COMING OF THE 
SPANISH 

CHAPTER I 
INDIAN LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 

BEFORE white people came to California there were 
Indians everywhere. In the mountains, on the sea- 
coast, along the rivers, were the rude homes of the dark- 
skinned natives, grouped into villages in each of which 
a tribe usually lived. They were a happy, jolly people. 
They liked to play games, to laugh, and to have enough 
to eat ; but they rarely worked except when it was neces- 
sary to hunt food. The neighboring tribes had so little 
to do with one another that often the Indians of one 
village could not understand the language of another only 
a few miles away. 

The huts were scattered along the streams where fish 
were most abundant ; or near groves of trees where nuts 
or acorns grew ; or where any kind of food was to be 
found. They were built in different ways. In those parts 
of California where there were few trees a round hole 
was dug, three to four feet deep and ten to twelve feet 

9 



10 



Before the Coming of the Spanish 




A winter hut 



across ; poles were erected around the edge and fast- 
ened together at the top ; twigs or tules were woven 

_j_ into the framework 

thus made, or mud 
was plastered over the 
outside ; a small hole 
was left at the bottom 
for a door, and another 
at the top to let out 
the smoke. This was 
the warm winter hut, 
which when finished 
looked like a big bowl 
turned upside down. 
All winter long, when fires were burning, the hut was 
close and filled with smoke. As a result, the eyes of 
the Indians were often badly diseased. Many old people 
had very sore eyes, or they became totally blind. 

The Indians were 
not bothered with fur- 
niture. They had no 
beds, chairs, nor tables. 
They ate with fingers 
instead of forks. They 
slept on the floor. 
When night came, fa- 
ther, mother, and chil- 
dren crept in through 
the low doorway, 
stretched themselves A summer hut 




Indian Life in California 



II 



on the ground, and went to sleep. There was no attempt 
to keep the floor clean. During the winter, when they 
ate in the hut, pieces of meat, bones, and other refuse 
were thrown around until even the Indians could no 
longer endure the filth. Then the old place was burned 
down, and a new one built. If the spring had come, 
this was of brushwood, and for a time, at least, it was 
clean. 

The Indians ate almost anything that was not poison 
ous. Acorns, grass seeds, nuts, clover, wild oats, ber- 
ries, — whatever was in 
season. They caught 
fish, and hunted and 
trapped deer. They ate 
lizards, rabbits, frogs, 
grasshoppers, and even 
repulsive worms. 

The acorns and grass 
seeds were pounded 
into a kind of coarse 

meal. This was work for the women, who spent the 
greater part of their time gathering and preparing food. 
Even to-day, if one goes near an Indian village where 
the old ways of life are kept up, he will hear a steady 
" thump! thump!" It is the women and girls sitting 
on the ground, pounding meal or cracking acorns and 
nuts with stones. The mortars in which they ground their 
meal were rude stone bowls pounded out of the rock by 
years of use. The pounding was done with long, slender 
stones called pestles. 




Mortars for grinding meal 



12 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

The Indians who lived in the mountains or foothills 
did not always take the trouble to make mortars. They 
pounded the acorns and nuts on some flat rock, probably 
in some hole already there ; as month after month and 
year after year passed, and the pounding was continued in 
the same places, holes as large as mortar hollows were 
made. Some rocks have a large number of such bowls 
in them, showing that many squaws must have sat near 
each other at their work. Perhaps they laughed and 
talked as they pounded, and the rock may have been their 
pleasantest place of meeting during the day. 

When the white people came to California, the Indians 
had no kettles. They used baskets in which to cook their 
food. These were woven so tight that they would hold 
water, but they could not be placed on the fire. To 
cook the meal a basket was filled with water, and hot 
stones were then dropped into it. When the water was 
almost boiling, the stones were taken out and the meal 
put in and stirred constantly until the mush was well 
cooked. The Indians ate their mush with their fingers. 
When it was so thick that it could be taken up with one 
finger, it was called one-finger mush ; and it was two-finger 
or three-finger mush, according to the number of fingers 
necessary to make the spoon for dipping it out. When- 
ever the Indians were going hunting or on a long trip 
gathering food, a basketful of cold mush was carried along 
on the back of some squaw. 

Grasshoppers, cooked in several ways, were thought 
fine eating. Catching them was usually work for the 
women and children. Dry grass was drawn into a heap, 



Indici7i Life in California 



13 



and the Indians scattered around it in a large circle, beat- 
ing the grass and bushes. The grasshoppers were driven 
into the pile of dry grass, which was set on fire at all 
places at once. Dry as tinder, it blazed up instantly, 
burned fiercely for a few moments, and died out, leaving 
the grasshoppers roasted on the ground. Basketfuls were 
picked up by the Indians ; they were either eaten as they 
were or ground fine in the mortar and stirred into the 
mush. This was a favorite dish. 

Gathering grass seeds was hard work, and therefore 
was usually done by 
the women. Early in 
the morning, before the 
man of the family was 
awake, the woman 
started out to collect 
seeds for the day. Her 
cone-shaped basket 
hung on her back, 
supported by a strap 
across the forehead. 
Her scoop basket was 
in her hand. Often a 
child or two clung to 
her, or they, too, were 
carried on her strong, 
broad back. Coming 
to the ripe grass, she 
whipped off the seeds with her scoop and threw them 
over her shoulder into the deep basket. When this was 




Pounding the grass seed 



14 Before the Coming of tJie Spanish 

full, she returned home, and pounded the meal for the 
daily mush. 

The women were the drudges of the family, especially 
in gathering and preparing food. The husbands do not 
seem to have been unkind to their wives and children, 
except that by their laziness they shirked nearly all of the 
hard work. In some respects, however, they were kinder 
than the eastern Indians ; for when they hunted and 
fished they carried home their heavy loads themselves, 
instead of leaving them for the women. 

In the season for wild ducks and geese the Indians had 
merry feasting. The whole village often traveled many 
miles to reach the rivers, ponds, and swamps visited by 
these birds. There were some strange ways of catching 
them. One tribe used to scatter on the bottom of a 
shallow stream red berries which they knew the ducks 
liked. A net was stretched over them a few inches under 
the water, and a decoy was placed. Then the Indians 
waited for a real duck to come along and dive for the 
tempting bait. A berry might be picked up, but as the 
duck tried to raise his head, he twisted it in the net; 
before he could loosen it he was drowned. Thus held 
fast, he served for another decoy, and the Indians soon 
had ducks enough for several meals with very little 
trouble to themselves. 

A trick was played on the deer also. An Indian put 
on a deer's head and antlers, and crept toward the feeding 
place. He was careful to make no noise, and not to be 
seen. When he was very near he raised his head under 
the antlers which he wore, and pretended to be eating 



Indian Life in California 



15 



grass. The deer were curious ; they stopped eating to 
look at the newcomer; but the Indian kept quietly on 
as if he were really feeding. Finally the deer felt so 
sure that this was an animal like themselves that they 
were no longer afraid of him. Then the Indian crept 
nearer and nearer until he could send an arrow straight 
home to the life of a deer. In this way two or three 




Deer stalking 

might be shot before the trick was discovered and the 
herd took to flight. 

The Indians thought it great sport to run down game. 
They even ran down deer. This was not so hard as it 
seems, for the Indians knew the trails, and men as well 
as boys shared in the sport. Runners were put in relays 
along the trails. One Indian started up a deer and ran 



1 6 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

after him as long as he could, or until he came to the 
place where the second runner was waiting. This one 
took up the chase, and the first one rested. So they kept 
it up until the animal was tired out ; then he was killed 
and the meat carried home. 

Rabbits and other small animals were frequently run 
down. A company of men and boys spread out in a sort 
of circle around the place where they knew that a rabbit 
was hiding. They began to shout, to caper, to beat the 
grass and bushes, and to make hideous noises. The 
frightened rabbit ran, became perplexed by his many 
tormentors, and if not really frightened to death, he was 
soon so confused that he was easily caught and killed. 

In some parts of California, catching salmon was a 
great event of the year. At certain seasons these fish 
come up the rivers from the sea ; and in the days before 
the white men had muddied the waters of the rivers with 
their mining, the salmon were sometimes so numerous 
that there was hardly room enough for them in the water. 
One tribe in the northern part of California had an easy 
way of catching salmon. Going to a river where there 
were many fish, the men built a booth out over the water, 
covered it with brushwood, and laid a rude floor. Here 
an Indian slept at night, waiting for the fish. Near the 
booth, in the stream, a net was stretched, and a string 
was taken from it to the Indian's hand, to which it was 
tied fast. If a salmon got into the net at night and 
began to flounder, the jerking on the string wakened 
the Indian. The fish was brought on shore, and the net 
set again. 



Indian Life in California 17 

In other parts also of California fishing meant great fun 
for the Indians. The sport was to drive the fish into a 
pool from which they could not escape. In some shallow 
stream a dam was built just below a deep pool. The men 
and boys went up the brook a mile or so to drive the fish 
down toward the dam. Going into the water, they waded 
around, splashing and stamping, shouting and throwing 
water on each other, and making all the noise possible. 
The frightened fish hurried away from the clamor, swam 
down the stream, and consequently went into the pool, 
where they gladly hid in the deeper water. The Indians 
quickly followed them and built a second dam above the 
pool, making the fish their prisoners. This was what they 
wanted, for now, whenever they needed fish to eat they 
went down to the pool and picked them out. Such feast- 
ing did not last long, however, for the Indians were great 
gluttons. Whenever they had anything extra they did not 
know how to save it up, but hardly stopped eating until 
the dainty was gone. 

The Indians who lived on the plains and in the valleys 
wore little clothing ; but those who were in the mountains 
or the colder parts of California wore skins of animals or 
blankets of braided grass. For everyday wear their 
dresses were very rude, but for festivals they were 
trimmed quite elaborately according to an Indian's taste. 
They used beautiful white down from the owl, glossy 
black feathers from the eagle, and the brilliant red 
scalps of woodpeckers. The last were so rare that 
only the great men of the tribe could afford them. 
Ornaments were made from shells and feathers, and, 

SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 2 



Before the Coming of the Spanish 



after the coming of the white men, 
beads were the best-liked adornment. 
Nearly all the California Indi- 
ans liked to bathe. Every morn- 
ing they went to the river or 
creek near the village and 
took a plunge into the 
cold water ; but in spite 
of their daily baths they 
were never clean. 
The different tribes often 
quarreled over silly trifles, 
and had many battles with 
each other. Their wars 
were seldom as serious as 
those of the eastern In- 
dians, who sometimes kept 
up hostilities with each 
other until a whole tribe 
was killed off. The Cali- 
fornia Indians fought 
easily, but not long at a time. One tribe might think that 
another had taken acorns from its trees ; or the men of 
one village might' say that those of another had made fun 
of them and insulted them. Either excuse was enough to 
cause a battle between the tribes. 

The chief could not declare war, but he called the men 
together and asked them if they wanted to fight their 
enemies. If they did, everybody hurried off to get ready. 
Bows were brought out and tried ; quivers were opened to 




Indian dressed for a festival 



Indian Life in California 19 

see if there were plenty of arrows. The women made up 
more acorn mush than usual, and packed it away in their 
deep, pointed baskets. When everything was prepared, 
the men took their weapons, the women strapped on their 
backs the heavy baskets of bread, usually with a baby on 
top, and the whole tribe, children included, went to the 
battle. 

As little noise as possible was made, so that the other 
Indians would not know that the enemy was coming. 
Surprise was an easy way of conquering. When near the 
enemy's village all kinds of hideous cries were suddenly 
made to frighten the people into believing that a very 
large force was on its w r ay to make an attack. As the 
fighting progressed, the women and children made them- 
selves useful. When the arrows began to be scarce, they 
ran out on the field of battle, picked up those that had 
been used, and brought them back for the men to shoot 
again. 

Such a battle never lasted long. As soon as blood was 
shed, or a few warriors had been killed, everybody was 
ready to go home, and the war was over. California 
Indians would rather enjoy life than go to war.. Of course 
there were times when more severe fighting was required. 
Then the women and children stayed at home, and many 
men were killed ; but for an Indian country there was 
very little warfare. 

Some people think that the Indians were usually well 
and happy, but that was not the case. They were often 
very sick, and after the white people came the savages 
were always begging for medicines. They had sore eyes 



20 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

from the smoky huts in which they passed the winters. 
Those who lived near the rivers had rheumatism and 
malarial fevers. After the coming of the Spaniards and 
the Americans, smallpox sometimes swept over the country, 
and its victims were always counted by the hundreds. 

There were many medicine men among the Indians. 
They were the great men of a village, and their power to 
cure sickness was never doubted. One of their ways of 
doctoring was to try to bring out an evil spirit, which they 
said had gone into the sick man. In order to do this, one, 
and sometimes two, medicine men came to suck out the 
spirit. Sickness was also said to be caused by a stick, 
bone, hair, or thorn which had gotten into the body ; but 
the treatment was the same as when the evil spirit was to 
be drawn out. The medicine men danced, tossed their 
hands and arms wildly, and blew toward the north, east, 
south, and west. They worked the patient up to such an 
excitement that it is a wonder he did not die. Then the 
real treatment began. A medicine man put his lips to the 
place where the sick man felt the greatest pain, and com- 
menced to suck out what the Indians thought was the poison. 
At last the medicine man showed a bone, a hair, or even a 
frog,- which he pretended he had drawn out of the body. 
If this did not bring about a cure, the sufferer was laid on 
a bed of sand and ashes, vessels of food and water were 
put at his head, and a fire was kept burning at his feet. 
Thinking that everything possible had now been done, 
friends gathered around and anxiously watched to see if 
the sick man was going to live or die. 

The sweat house, or temescal, was another means used 



Indian Life in California 21 

by the Indians to cure their diseases. It must have been 
worse than the medicine men. The sweat house was 
shaped like the living houses, except that it was larger 
and was dug out deeper, so that half, or even more, of the 
hut was underground. The roof was covered with clay so 
thick that hardly a breath of fresh air could get through. 
When the Indians wished to use the sweat house, they 
went inside, closed the door, and built a hot fire. Then 
they danced some solemn, religious measures, or sat on 
the floor while the fire burned up bright and fierce. The 
room soon became so warm that every one was dripping 
wet with perspiration ; the air was so impure that it was 
almost impossible to breathe ; the dancers were ex- 
hausted ; but all stayed until they could no longer endure 
the heat and the foul air. Then the Indians made a rush 
for the door ; they burst outside, the strong often carrying 
the weak ; they ran, never stopping, until they could throw 
themselves into a stream of cold water, near which the 
sweat house was usually built. Harsh as was the treat- 
ment, many Indians were cured by it of their diseases, 
although many others were killed. 

The lazy, fun-loving Indians liked to play games. Men 
and boys often staved around the wick-i-ups, or huts, all 
day long, doing nothing but sleeping and playing. A 
favorite game was one called "takersia." To play it, a 
large, level piece of ground was chosen ; it was carefully 
cleared of grass, weeds, logs, and sticks ; a space about 
twenty feet square was staked off, and the ground was 
ready for the game. A small hoop about three inches in 
diameter was made. Two players went on the ground, 



22 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

each with a small stick in his hand, and watched closely 
to see how and where the hoop was to be thrown. After 
many false moves to take the players off their guard, 
some one sent the hoop rolling swiftly across the open 
space. In an instant the two sticks shot forward. If 
they fell short or passed over the hoop, the game was 
lost ; if a stick went through the ring but knocked it over, 
one point was gained ; while if a deft player sent his stick 
through the rolling hoop without touching it, he gained 
two points. The game was short, as only three points had 
to be won by any person. 

The Indians probably took turns on the field, but the 
most skillful soon became the favorites. The onlookers 
watched the merry performances with the greatest delight, 
shouting and cheering at the best moves, and laughing 
heartily when some one was taken off his guard by the 
tossers of the hoop. 

Another noisy game, somewhat like our " shinny," was 
played with a ball of hard wood. Old and young enjoyed 
it, but it was usually left to the boys and girls. The 
players were divided into two sides, each having a base. 
Each group struggled hard to send the ball over the 
enemy's base. As the small piece of wood started across 
the field, there was the greatest excitement, expressed by 
howls and whoops. Even some of the bystanders seized 
sticks and rushed into the game on one side or the other, 
while those who resisted the excitement and watched the 
rest, shouted and cheered on the favorites. The crowd of 
men, boys, and girls pushed and raced across the field, 
driving the ball now this way, now that, until some lucky 



Indian Life in California 23 

player sent it over the enemy's base, and the game was 
won. A hundred or more players were sometimes on the 
field at once. Many a knock was given and taken, but no 
one seemed to mind. Indian boys learned to stand hard 
hits without grumbling. 

The children had great sport when the clover was in 
blossom. Out into the sunshine they went, hunting a 
clover patch. When one was found with rich, honey-filled 
heads of blossoms, the children formed themselves into a 
large ring, pulled up some of the heads, and made them 
into a ball. Then the fun began. Away went the clover, 
tossed by the brown little hands ; away went the children 
after it with their mouths wide open, for the game was to 
catch the ball in the mouth. What shouts and screams of 
fun ! Every open mouth was struggling to get the sweet, 
juicy clover heads, and the child who finally caught it was 
given the clover to eat. 

To change the game, a child was sometimes made to 
close his eyes, open his mouth, and wait for his playmates 
to throw him a ball of clover. If only soft blossoms were 
thrown, the victim might be glad, for the temptation was 
too great for the fun-loving Indian lads. Many a clod of 
dirt, a stick, or even a stone found its way into the wait- 
ing mouth. So with shouts of laughter the play went mer- 
rily on until every one was tired out. 

Learning to fish, to hunt, and to swim were almost like 
games to the Indian children. The natives on the Sacra- 
mento River used to teach their children to swim when 
they were only a few weeks old. A father took his baby 
down to the river and, holding him on his hands, put 



24 



Before the Coming of the Spanish 



him into the water. The little fellow was held so closely 
that he could not drown ; and, like a small frog, his 
kicks and plunges soon taught him to swim. 

These Indians used to ride on the river and even on the 
bay on their tule rafts. It was often riding in the river ; 
for, sitting astride of the long, cigar-shaped raft, the feet 
hung down in the water. If the raft rolled and tipped off 




Mission Indians 

the rider, he seemed to care no more than if he had 
stumbled and fallen on land ; for these Indians could swim 
long distances and were no more afraid of water than are 
fish. 

When the Spanish came, California was full of Indians, 
— happy, easy-going, good-natured. With no hard work 
to wear them out, no long, cruel wars to kill them off, and 
in a country that gave them food so easily, the Indians 
often lived to be a hundred years old or more. These 



Indian Life in California 25 

happy conditions were not greatly changed during the 
time of the Spanish. But when at length the Americans 
occupied the country, they seemed to bring death to the 
poor natives. The two races could not live together. The 
brown-skinned Indians were the weaker of the two, and 
they faded away before the white men ; they disappeared 
like melting snow in a rapidly rushing mountain stream. 
To-day not many are left of the thousands that less than 
a hundred years ago thronged our fertile, sunny state. 

There were no great wars between the Indians and the white 
men, but many on both sides lost their lives in the efforts 
to hold land. The natives could not live as did the Ameri- 
cans. They were easily subject to contagious diseases, and 
a whole village might be carried off by a plague of smallpox 
or fever. They tried to wear the clothes of the newcomers ; 
but not knowing how to dress for different seasons, they 
took cold and died from all kinds of lung troubles. They 
drank the white man's whisky, and strong drink soon 
carried off its victims. Food became scarce, for great 
stock ranges and wheat ranches took the place of the open 
country where the Indians had hunted wild animals or 
found insects and roots. Pigs ate the acorns that had been 
the bread of the Indians ; the salmon no longer came up 
from the ocean ; the deer fled to the mountains. Slowly 
the Indians disappeared from the great valleys which had 
become the homes of the white men. To-day they are 
rarely to be seen except in the mountains. 

Many white men were kind to the Indians whose homes 
had been taken. Villages were built for them, and the 
simple-hearted natives were proud to call themselves by 



26 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

the name of their protector: as, Bidwell's Indians, Red- 
ding's Indians. But life was harder in many ways, and 
the Indian went down in the struggle. 

To-day there are a number of schools in California 
where the Indian boys and girls are taught many things 
which the white children learn. It may not be long before 
the young people will forget or never be told that their 
fathers once owned all of California from the mountains 
of Siskiyou to the deserts of San Diego ; and they may be 
as happy in the ways of the white men as their fathers 
were in their wild, free Indian life. 

Questions. — Was life difficult or easy for the Indians of California ? 
Why ? Why did the Indians move from place to place ? Where were 
they most liable to move ? What amusements did the Indians have ? 
How did they act toward each other in their games ? Did they care 
about fine dress ? How about their everyday clothing ? 

In what part of their life did the Indians show shrewdness ? Their 
enjoyment of society ? What other traits of character can be men- 
tioned ? In what way was each one shown ? 

What caused diseases among the Indians ? How did they try to 
cure them ? What help were they glad to get from the white men ? 



CHAPTER II 
INDIAN LEGENDS 

The California Indians had a great many legends, the 
most of which were very simple. Some were quaint 
fancies, the answers of the savages to such questions as 
how the world had been made, why the sun rose and set, 
where the mountains came from, what lighted the fire in 
the stars. Nearly all these legends had something in 
them about animals, but the coyote was always the favor- 
ite, probably because of his cunning. In some stories he 
helped make the world, or he was the creator of man. 
He was generally the friend of the Indian, bringing him 
help and knowledge. Legends told in different parts of 
the country often contradicted each other, for the Indians 
who lived in one place probably knew nothing of the 
lives and stories of those who lived a few miles away. 

LEGEND OF THE CREATION 

Once there was no earth, but only a great body of water 
that stretched as far as one could see in all directions. 
Man had not yet been created ; and, except the coyote 
and his companion, the eagle, there were no animals. 
The coyote grew tired of being alone so much of the time 
when the eagle was away on his long flights, and he began 

27 



28 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

to scratch in the air with his claws. Something seemed to 
appear out of the nothingness around him. He watched 
it in surprise; he was making the earth. He kept on 
scratching, and finally land appeared. Coyote was 
pleased, but the eagle, coming home, found fault. 

" This will never do," he said to the coyote. " There 
is no place for me to rest. You must make some moun- 
tains." 

The coyote began to scratch again, and made some hills 
for the eagle. 

" These are not high enough for me," said the eagle, 
angrily. " Make me some mountains which shall be high 
above the level of the earth." 

" I am sorry that my mountains do not suit you," an- 
swered the coyote, " but I am tired and I really cannot do 
any more to-day." 

So he went to sleep, too lazy to do anything more to 
the world. It was good enough for him just as it was, 
and if the eagle wanted it improved, the coyote thought 
that he could do it for himself. The eagle saw that the 
coyote had gone to sleep, and as he wanted the mountains 
at once, he decided not to wait for the lazy animal to wake 
up. He began to scratch with his feet, and the mountains 
grew higher and higher, until even the eagle was satisfied 
with their size. 

When he saw them rising up toward the sky he said, 
" How bare they are. I must plant trees on them." 

He flew slowly over the mountains and then slowly 
back again. As he moved, many of his feathers fell to the 
ground. The large ones grew up into great trees, and the 



Indian Leo-ends 



29 



little pin feathers became bushes and plants. The eagle 
was happy when he saw the result of his work. He flew 
away over the land, perching on his mountains when he 
was tired, and making his nest on high cliffs far out of 
reach of all the animals. 



HOW MAX WAS MADE 



When the coyote had finished making the world and all 
the animals, he was ready to make man. But how should 
he create so wonderful a being ! Cunning as he was, 




The council of animals 

coyote hesitated about trying all alone to make man ; so he 
called in the other animals to give him their advice. They 
sat down around him, the mountain lion at their head. 

"How shall we make this mighty creature, man?" 
coyote asked. 



30 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

Up spoke the mountain lion with a great roar. " He 
must have a strong voice," said he, " so that everything 
in the forest can hear him and be afraid." 

The grizzly bear said, " Nonsense ! " and shook his big, 
shaggy head. " Such a voice would scare away the very 
animals that he wanted to kill. Man must be very strong, 
able to kill his prey when he catches it." 

So it went all around the circle of advisers. The deer 
thought that man should have antlers, thin ears, and sharp 
eyes. The beaver thought that a broad, flat tail was nec- 
essary for carrying mud and sand. The owl hooted out, 
"Give him wings, of course ! How can he live without 
wings ? " Even the little mouse squeaked out his ideas 
about making man. 

The coyote listened until he lost patience. " You are 
all wrong," said he. " Man must not be like any of you ; 
he must have the good points of every one of us." 

So they quarreled. The coyote bit a piece out of the 
beaver's cheek ; the owl flew on the coyote's head and 
tore it with his claws. Not one would give up his idea of 
how man was to be made. 

" I will make a man myself ! " said each one at last ; but 
they had talked and quarreled so long that it was almost 
dark before any one could commence his work of creation. 
They all made a start, and then went to sleep, leaving 
their work for the next day. 

Sly coyote did not sleep. When he thought that the 
other animals would not wake up, he went softly around 
and poured water on their models and spoiled them. Then 
he worked hard all night, and finished his before sunrise ; 



Indian Legends 



31 



he gave it life, and when the sleepy animals were finally 
awake, the coyote's man was living. He was not like any 
animal, but had the good points of all, just as the coyote 
had said in the council. 



COYOTE S CUNNING 

The Indians knew that the coyote was very cunning. 
They liked to watch him, and to tell stories about his 
goodness to the Indians ; but they laughed at him and 
made fun of his tricks. The squaws told the children 
many of these stories, as they sat around the fire in their 
warm huts on the chilly, rainy days of winter. 
Here is one of them. I 

The Great Spirit sat on his sacred stool and 
rested. He was very tired, for he had just ^ 
finished making the world and the animals. 
Last of all, he had made a man, who was, 
of course, an Indian. 

" Now," said the Great Spirit, "man, you 
shall tell the animals what to eat and what 
to do. I will call them together, and they 
shall walk in front of you so that you can 
see them. Then you will know what to say 
to them." 

The Great Spirit told the animals that they 
were to be ready to meet the man the next 
morning. Then he turned to the Indian. 

"Make bows and arrows," said he, "as many as there 
are animals. When they march in front of you to-morrow, 
give one to each. Give the longest bow and arrow to the 




Bow and arrows 



12 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

animal which is to have the most power ; give the shortest 
to the one which is to be weakest." 

The animals met that night, so that they might sleep in 
one place and be ready to go together to the man the next 
morning. All went to sleep but the cunning coyote. He 
was planning how to get the longest bow and arrow. 

" I will not sleep/' he said to himself. " I will keep 
awake all night, so that I shall be first in the morning. 
Then the man will give me the longest bow, and I shall be 
the strongest animal in the world." 

His eyes shone as he looked at his companions. The 
grizzly bear was fast asleep. The timid deer started at 
every rustle, and glanced fearfully around. The little 
field mouse peeped from under a bush, and ran a little 
farther away before it dared settle down to sleep. The 
coyote stretched his thin snout on his fore paws, shut his 
eyes, and waited. 

"Ha, ha!" laughed he. "These stupid animals will 
soon be asleep, but I shall keep awake until I have that 
bow and arrow. Then I shall be a match for even old 
Grizzly-skin himself." 

He would have liked to tweak the ear of the old bear, 
but he was afraid of a cuff from the big, flat paw ; so he 
lay still and waited. 

"Hi! how hard it is to keep awake!" he muttered. 
" How old Grizzly snores ! I'll take a little walk just to 
keep my eyes open." He crept slowly out, but still he 
was sleepy. " I'll run," thought the coyote. But he 
stepped on a dry twig ; it broke with a snap. Up sprang 
the deer, wide awake in an instant. The coyote jumped 



Indian Legends 33 

back and stepped on the rattlesnake, who set up his 
hideous warning. 

" Keep still, old fellow," whispered the coyote. 

It was too late. All the animals were stirring, and 
the coyote had to lie down or they would soon be wide 
awake. There was one comfort for the coyote. He 
saw a bright star in the sky, which he knew was the 
morning star. 

" If I can keep my eyes open just a little while longer, 
it will be daylight," thought he; but he was so sleepy 
that both eyes shut in spite of himself. Coyote shook his 
head angrily. 

"This will never do. I shall go to sleep, no matter 
how hard I try not to." 

He stretched out his fore paw sleepily and yawned. He 
started as his paw touched a dry branch on the ground. 

"Aha!" said he, softly. "The animals say that I am 
cunning. I'll show them that I am more clever than they 
dream." 

He drew the stick toward him, gently broke off two 
small pieces, and sharpened them at the ends. Then he 
opened his eyes wide, and put the sticks in so that they 
would prop up his eyelids. 

"Now," said the cunning coyote," I can take a little nap, 
and still watch the morning star." 

He was so sleepy that he could not keep awake another 
moment. Down pressed his eyelids on the sticks. Slowly 
the sharp ends pricked through. The coyote did not 
know it; he was so sound asloep that he did not feel the 
pricks. Up climbed the morning star ; down went the eye- 

SI'AN. IN SOUTHWEST — 3 



34 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

lids until they were pinned fast together by the^sticks that 
were to have held them apart. 

Paler grew the star, nearer came the sun. The birds 
began to twitter softly. The animals yawned and stretched. 
Just as the sun looked over the mountain, all the animals 
but the coyote went out to meet the man. The last to 
creep away was the poor little frog. He was the weakest 
of the animals, and should have had the very smallest 
bow. But when he had received his, the man still held 
the smallest one in his hand. 

" What animal have I missed ? " cried the man. 

The animals, looking around in surprise, saw the coyote 
lying with his head on his fore paws, fast asleep, his eye- 
lids pinned together by the sharp sticks. How they 
shouted and laughed ! 

" See the coyote!" they screamed. " See the cunning 
coyote ! He is beaten this time ! " 

They ran to him, jumped on him, danced around him, 
and laughed themselves hoarse at his plight. The man 
was sorry for the poor coyote. He pulled out the sharp 
sticks, and gave him the only bow that was left, the short- 
est one of all. 

Disappointed coyote ! He was to be the weakest of the 
animals. Again the man was full of pity. He had no 
strong bow left, so he prayed to the Great Spirit to send 
some other gift ; and in answer to his petition the coyote 
was made ten times more cunning than before. Coyote 
never forgot this kindness, and in return he always helped 
the man and his children. • 



Indian Legends 35 

HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS 

After man was on earth, the coyote began to plan to 
show him some great favor. The god of the Indians had 
made fire and hidden it away in a casket, guarded by two 
women, very old and very ugly. They lived far away 
toward the rising sun, no one knew just where. 

The coyote determined to steal some fire from them for 
man. As he would need a great deal of help, he collected 
a large company of animals, one of every kind he knew. 
The strongest were to go farthest from home with him, to 
the very land where the old women kept the casket of fire. 
The weakest were to stay nearest home, because they 
could not run fast nor far. An Indian was to go with the 
coyote almost to the hut of the fire watchers. 

When they were at the end of their journey the coyote 
hid the Indian under a hill. 

" Stay here until I come for you or call out," said he. 

The Indian crawled under the hill and waited quietly 
for his companion. The cunning coyote went boldly up 
to the cabin where the old hags lived, and rapped on the 
door. One of the women came to see what was wanted. 

" Good evening," said the coyote, politely, " may I come 
in and warm myself at your fire ? " 

"Certainly," said the woman. "It is cold out of doors 
to-night. Come in and lie down where it is warm." 

The coyote went in and found a snug place by the fire. 
The warmth made him stretch out his sharp nose and 
curl himself up drowsily. "This is fine," said he. Then 
he pretended to go to sleep ; but he shut only one eye, 



36 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

and kept the other open so that he could watch the two 
women. 

" I don't believe that they ever go to sleep," he thought, 
as hour after hour went by, and their eyes were as wide 
open as ever. He was right. That was one reason why 
they had been chosen to guard the precious casket. All 
night and all day they watched the treasured fire, and did 
not give the coyote the chance for which he was waiting. 
In despair he at last went out to get help from the Indian 
who was lying hidden under the hill. 

" You will have to come," said the coyote. " You must 
go up to the hut and pretend that you want to steal the 
fire. They will watch you, and not think of me. I will 
take some of the fire and run to the mountain lion." 

Everything went as the coyote had planned. When the 
Indian came to the hut, the old women tried to chase him 
away before he could get the fire, but while they were 
running after him out of one door, the coyote seized a 
burning brand, and fled out of the other. As he ran, some 
sparks that fell were seen by the old women. Knowing 
now who was the real thief, they turned from the Indian 
and gave chase to the coyote. 

Away he ran, the fire in his mouth ; away went the two 
old women after him. The coyote could run fast, but the 
old women could run faster. They were almost up with 
him when he came to the place where he had told the lion 
to wait. There stood the faithful lion, ready to start ; for 
he had seen them all running toward him, and had guessed 
what he was to do. 

The coyote's breath was quite spent. He could not say 



Indian Legends 37 

a word as he held out the burning brand. But the lion 
took it in his mouth, and before the hags were quite within 
reach of him he was gone. Since the old women never 
grew tired, they ran on after the lion. Just as they 
thought they were about to catch him he reached the 
place where the next animal was waiting. Again the 
brand was taken by a fresh animal, again the old hags 
gave chase. So it happened every time. The old women 
were never quite fast enough, and the coyote had placed 
the animals so wisely that not one gave out before the next 
was reached. 

The last but one was the little ground squirrel. Although 
he is small he can run fast ; but when he took the fire- 
brand, the hags were so close that he thought he would 
not escape them. Off he ran so fast that his tail caught 
fire. It hurt him so badly that he curled it up over his 
back, where it burned the little brown stripe which we can 
still see to-day. In spite of his pain the brave little fellow 
would not give up. He ran on, and before the old women 
came up with him, he reached the last hiding place. 

The frog was waiting there. He could not run, but had 
to hop along ; so he could not carry the fire as the others 
had. He opened his mouth and swallowed the brand ; 
then off he hopped toward the home of the Indians. 
Closer came the old hags. One of them reached out afld 
caught the tail of the frightened little froggie. Still the 
brave messenger hopped along. He gave his tail a wrench 
to pull it free. Oh, horror ! It dropped off in the hand 
of the old woman. But the frog would not give up the 
fire. Jumping into the water, he swam as long as he could 



38 



Before the Coming of the Spanish 



hold his breath ; then he came on land and spit the fire 
out into a big log of driftwood. 

There it stayed ev£r after ; and when the Indians wanted 
a fire, all that they had to do was to rub two pieces of dry 
wood together, and the sparks of fire flew out. But no 
grown-up frog since that time r has been known to have a tail. 



A LEGEND OF THE GEYSERS 

Two young Indians were out hunting. They were near 
the place where Cloverdale is now situated. They had 

startled a big grizzly bear, 
v^ and both shot him at almost 

the same moment. The 
great animal fell, and they 
waited quietly to see if he 
were dead or only sham- 
ming. 

" Shoot him again," said 
one ; and they let fly their 
flint headed arrows at the 
struggling bear. By this 
time the grizzly had man- 
aged to get on his feet 
again, and had started to- 
ward the brush. After him 
went the Indians, guided by the heavy trail of blood. 
Wounded though he was, the bear went rapidly up the 
canyon; the Indians followed at a safe distance, waiting 
for the savage beast to drop dead from the arrow wounds 
which he had received. Mile after mile they went, guided 




Indian Legends 39 

always by that trail of blood, growing more marked the 
farther they went. 

"He cannot last much longer," they said; but as the 
sun sank lower in the west, and the bear still held out, 
they began to talk of giving up the chase and going back 
to camp. Suddenly they saw the animal before them, 
writhing on the ground. 

" Now we have him ! " they shouted, and gave a loud 
whoop of joy as they started for their prey. Frightened by 
the noise, the dying bear rose and staggered on again. He 
plunged into the ravine ahead of him to die. The Indians 
saw him fall and ran forward to get his body. Suddenly 
they stopped. With eyes starting from their heads they 
looked around. Had they gone mad ? Was all the world 
bewitched ? 

Jets of steam hissed up from the ground around them. 
Smoke drifted from the hillsides. A smell of sulphur 
nearly choked them c Before them was a great basin in 
which water boiled and bubbled. The earth beneath their 
feet was spongy, and seemed ready to sink w r ith their 
weight. 

With a look of horror and with a fear beyond words, the 
terrified hunters fled back the way that they had come. 
Into the village they rushed and told their story. The 
grave old Indians who listened said not a word. In amaze- 
ment they looked at the hunters. 

Earth that smoked ? Water that boiled and bubbled 
without fire? Steam that came from the hillsides with 
the noise of a rushing, roaring storm wind ? Such things 
were impossible. But the two young Indians were known 



40 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

to be truthful, and there must be some reason for their 
story. 

" We have told you the truth," they said. " Come and 
see for yourselves." 

About twenty of the Indians went back with them to 
the place where they said the bear had died. There he 
lay just as they had left him. That part of their story was 
true. There too was the black water, boiling and seething, 
hot as the hottest fire could have made it. 

All the Indians came now to see this new wonder of 
their land. The medicine men said that such water would 
cure any disease. Booths were therefore built over the jets 
of steam, and the sick people were laid on them to be cured. 
So many became well that the fame of the geysers spread 
among the Indians. 

All the wonders of the geyser country were not yet 
known to the simple natives. One night the clouds hung 
dark above the land. It was just the night for an evil 
spirit to be out, doing mischief to the Indians. Suddenly 
the earth shook. Again and again it trembled violently. 
There was a strange rumbling sound in the canyon. 

"The spirit of the grizzly has come back to haunt the 
place of his death," said the Indians, as they fled from the 
spot. Many of them believed that evil spirits often went 
into grizzly bears, and for this reason they could not 
make up their minds to go back to a place which they 
believed to be haunted. 

"We have many sick and dying," they said to each 
other. " We must find some way of going back to our 
healing springs." 



Indian Legends 41 

At last a gray-haired man who had come among them 
said : " I will make an offering to this evil spirit. We 
will put it at the edge of the basin which boils and bubbles. 
If it is accepted, the evil spirit will go away and leave us 
the springs that heal." 

The old man went to work. Day after day he cut and 
scraped, until a human face seemed to be growing out of 
the rock. All alone he went into the canyon, and all alone 
he worked there. The Indians watched him with reverence 
and superstition. The face was almost finished. Early 
in the morning and late at night the sculptor was at his 
work. One night he did not come to the village even 
when it grew late and the stars shone in the sky. 

" He will finish it to-night," said the Indians, waiting 
eagerly in their village. 

Suddenly there came a moan, a groan, from the canyon 
where the old man had been at work. Then there was a 
rumble such as they had heard before. The ground shook 
again and again. Cliffs trembled ; some of them fell from 
their bases. 

The horrified Indians threw themselves on the ground, 
and waited breathlessly for the morning sun. When at 
last it rose above the hills, the Indians in fear and trem- 
bling hurried to the place where they had last seen the old 
sculptor. Not a trace of him was to be found, and he was 
never seen again. The image was finished, however, and 
its cold, stony face looked down into the boiling waters of 
the basin, an offering to the evil spirit of the place. 

Silently all looked at the face, and silently all crept away. 
Three quarters of a mile farther down the canyon they 



42 Before the Coming of the Spanish 

found new springs that had burst out in the earthquake 
shock of the preceding night. 

"The old man was sent by the Great Spirit to help us," 
said the Indians. " We will bring the sick to these new 
springs, for they are a gift from the evil spirit to show 
that he is no longer angry with us for killing the grizzly. 
But the horrible sounds from the upper springs mean that 
we must not go to them again." 

The Indians obeyed what they took to be a warning. 
Even after the white men had come to the country and had 
visited the upper springs without harm, the Indians re- 
fused to go back to their old haunts. They continued to 
take their sick to the lower springs which they believed 
had been given to them by the evil spirit when he accepted 
the carved face on the rock. 

Questions. — What did the Indians admire in the coyote ? Do these 
legends tell us anything about the lives of the Indians ? Why were 
not the legends the same all over California? Who made them? 
How were they remembered? Were they liable to change? 



II. DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS 



CHAPTER III 
CORTES 

WHEN Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, 
he thought that he was going straight to China. He 
touched the coasts of Central and 
South America, and to the end of 
his life believed that he had found 
some islands near the shore of Asia. 
He was greatly disappointed that 
he could not succeed in sail- 
ing around the land which 
lay so obstinately in his way, 
for he believed it to be only 
an island, and that the fabu- 
lous East, with all its wealth 
of silks and spices, was just 
beyond. 

Other Spaniards had the same belief, and, in their ef- 
forts to sail around the land which had blocked the way 
for Columbus, some of them touched the eastern coast of 
Mexico. Among the latter was Hernando Cortes, 1 a 

1 Cortes (Kor'tas). 

43 




Hernando Cortes 



44 Discoverers and Explorers 

brave man, and one of the greatest of Spanish explorers 
and conquerors. He was sent out with some ships to visit 
the country known to be west of Cuba, and to bring back 
all the information he could gather about the land and its 
people. 

Cortes stopped at many places on the coast of Mexico 
and Central America. He was told that there was a rich 
country farther inland ; that the natives wore many valu- 
able ornaments, and that they had fine temples where they 
gave gold, silver, and precious stones to their gods. He 
heard, also, about a great body of water beyond Mexico to 
the west. 

Cortes determined to visit this country, hoping to find 
there gold enough to satisfy himself and all his men. But 
he was not sure that his men would stand by him in so 
dangerous an undertaking. What if they should desert 
him in the midst of the new country ? Cortes did not 
intend to come back himself until he had learned all 
about the land ahead of him ; neither did he intend to 
have his men come back without him. At last he made 
a remarkable decision. 

His ships were anchored in a small harbor on the coast 
of Mexico. He ordered his men to take out everything 
that could be of use ; then, under the pretext that the ves- 
sels were no longer seaworthy, he caused them to be sunk. 
He felt now that he was safe, so far as his own soldiers 
were concerned. If they deserted him, there was no way 
for them to return to Cuba or Europe ; and Cortes well 
knew that they would rather risk their lives in the strange, 
hostile country ahead of them with him as a leader, than 



Cortes 



45 



to choose any one else in his place. He, as well as his 
men, knew that he was the bravest and most capable man 
in the company. As the soldiers rode away toward the 
blue mountains rising before them in the west, they must 
have realized that the surest way to preserve their lives 
was by giving implicit obedience to Cortes. 

Stories of the city of Mexico, the capital of the Aztecs, 
continued to reach 
Cortes as he traveled 
toward the mountains. 
They made him all the 
more determined to 
visit that city, and find 
out for himself how 
much truth there was 
in the reports about its 
vast wealth and stores 
of precious stones. At 
one of the cities con- 
quered on the march, 
the Spaniards were met by some messengers from the 
king of the Aztecs. The name of this king was Mon- 
tezuma, and he was the ruler of the most powerful nation 
in the country. He was so feared by many of the small 
states, and so hated by others, that all along his route, 
Cortes found tribes who were ready to help him in his 
attack on the dreaded king. 

Soon after Cortes landed on the shore of Mexico, word 
had been sent him by Montezuma that he wished to be- 
come a vassal of the king of the white man's country. 




A Spanish ship of the time of Cortes 



46 Discoverers and Explorers 

He promised to send across the seas a yearly tribute of 
gold, silver, slaves, and anything that he had. The mes- 
sengers who met Cortes at the conquered town had come 
to assure him again of the good will of Montezuma, and to 
ask that the Spaniards should come no nearer the Aztec 
capital. The roads were bad, they said ; Mexico was on 
the water and could be reached only with canoes ; the 
country was so barren that the Spaniards would suffer for 
the necessities of life ; and it would be better for everybody 
if these strange white men would stay near the coast, or 
leave the country entirely, sailing away in their great 
winged ships. Cortes could not be deceived by such weak 
excuses ; and, besides, the messengers had something to 
add which, instead of hurrying him away as they hoped, 
quickly decided him and all his men to press on to Mex- 
ico. They brought him an abundance of rich presents. 

The Aztecs thought that the white men were gods, and 
they had brought them rich gifts, such as they offered to 
their own deities when they went to the temples to wor- 
ship. If the strangers took the gifts, the Indians hoped 
that in return they would do whatever was asked. Poor 
messengers ! Poor Montezuma ! They could not under- 
stand that these very presents were to bring death to them- 
selves and ruin to their loved country. For, among other 
things, they had brought considerable gold. 

There were pieces of armor trimmed with gold. There 
were crests of feathers with gold and silver threads run- 
ning through them, and scattered over with pearls and 
precious stones. There was a helmet filled with grains 
of pure gold. They had brought, also, two large plates, 



Cortes 47 

one of silver and the other of gold ; both " as large as 
carriage wheels," said the historian who was with Cortes 
and who wrote about the scene. The one of gold, so 
admired by all, was used by the Aztecs in their worship 
of the sun ; and as they thought that Cortes was a long- 
promised god, Montezuma had sent him this gift, one 
truly fit for gods. 

How the Spaniards must have stared at all this wealth 
of presents ! No one thought now of going back to 
Spain. On, on to Mexico ! was the- cry of every soldier. 
The Aztecs had sealed their own fate by the gifts which 
they had brought. The Spaniards, cruel and greedy, 
would never leave the country now until they were mas- 
ters of all this wealth. What were these articles that 
were given away, to all the riches that must have been 
kept at home ? On to Mexico ! 

It was a weary march, and the soldiers were tired 
long before they saw Montezuma's capital. They had 
climbed far up the mountains that lie between the city 
and the sea, and at last, as they passed around a rocky 
projection, they beheld a beautiful valley below them. 
Like Moses of old, they stopped to look at the glorious 
country. 

" It is the promised land ! " 1 they cried in their delight, 
as the great leader of Israel had cried out when he saw 
Canaan before him. But Moses had dreamed of peace 
and rest for his people in the land toward which they were 
traveling ; while Cortes thought only of war and conquest, 
and of taking by force all the riches that he and his men 
1 Torquemada, quoted by Prescott in his Conquest of Mexico* 



4 8 



Discoverers and Explorers 



could carry away. Why should he think of the sufferings 
which were to" fall on the gentle people who lived in the 
lovely valley below ? What did he care for the country 
that he was to ruin, for the slaves who were to tremble 
under the lash of the white man ? He had come for gold ; 
gold he would have, no matter what it cost. 

In the clear air of the mountain regions Cortes and his 
men could look over all the valley. Vast forests covered 
much of it; but there were also the fair orchards and 
gardens of the peaceful Aztecs. In the midst of the 
valley were lakes surrounded by villages and cities. There 
was no need to ask which was Mexico, 
the city of their desires. It lay on the 
water's edge, larger than the rest, and 
like a queen it overlooked and ruled its 
dependants. 

Montezuma was waiting for the com- 
ing of the white men. From the time 
of their landing, he had seemed to feel 
that they would bring him only trouble, 
and he had kept himself informed of 
every move which they had made. He 
knew when any town tried to stop them ; 
when any of his enemies gave them 
help ; and now his faithful scouts hurried to tell him that 
the dreaded strangers were before his own beautiful city. 
He listened to the stories of the wonderful animals that 
seemed a part of the men, obeying them, never seeming 
to tire, carrying men on their backs as if they were chil- 
dren. These were the horses of the Spaniards, animals 




Montezuma 



Cortes 49 

which the Aztecs had never before seen, and which they 
feared almost as much as they dreaded the men them- 
selves. 

Montezuma listened quietly to all that his people had to 
tell him ; then he made ready to welcome Cortes. It was 
a notable event, this first meeting between a great ruler 
of the New World and an invincible conqueror from the 
Old. Borne in his palanquin, attended by his nobles, and 
followed by a great number of his subjects, Montezuma 
went out on the causeway which connected the city with 
the mainland. 

Cortes had advanced to the very entrance of the city, 
where he was met by a large number of the nobles of 
the Aztec court, sent by Montezuma to be the first to 
greet the white leader, and to herald his own approach. 
As they drew near Cortes, they gave him the peculiar 
greeting of their country for men of rank ; every noble 
put one of his hands to the ground, bent over and kissed 
it. Then all advanced to speak to the leader. Cortes 
had reached a drawbridge which separated the causeway 
from the main street of the city. After the greeting from 
the large company of nobles, this drawbridge was crossed, 
and the Spaniards found themselves at the beginning of a 
beautiful avenue. Cortes described it in a letter to his 
emperor, Charles V. He said that the street was so wide 
and straight that one could see to its farther end, two 
miles away. It was lined on both sides by large temples 
and palaces. Its beauty so surprised the Spaniards that 
they declared there was nothing finer among all the streets 
of Europe. 

SPAN, IN SOUTHWEST — 4 



50 Discoverers and Explorers 

Montezuma was approaching the drawbridge as Cortes 
crossed. Two hundred nobles, richly dressed, were 
formed in two lines, one on each side of the broad street, 
close to the houses. In the center of the procession came 
Montezuma, borne in his palanquin. When he alighted 
and advanced toward Cortes, slaves swept the ground 
before him, and then spread carpets on which he walked ; 
for his royal feet in their golden sandals must not touch 
the common earth. 

As the emperor approached, Cortes dismounted and 
walked haughtily forward, a servant following, leading the 
horse. There was no appearance of fear in the proud 
man, although he could see that he and his small army 
were surrounded by swarming multitudes of Aztecs. 
After the first greetings had been exchanged, Cortes made 
a motion to embrace the emperor as he had the chiefs 
whom he had met on the road ; but he was instantly pre- 
vented by a noble. To have touched the lord of all the 
Aztecs would have been a profanation of the royal person. 
Rich presents were exchanged, some words spoken by 
means of an interpreter, and Montezuma stepped again 
into his palanquin. 

He had welcomed Cortes to his kingdom, but he had no 
hope nor pleasure in greeting this cold, proud man ; he 
had only fear for his unknown power. He had yielded to 
what he believed was his fate. He thought that Cortes 
came from the gods, and he did not know yet whether he 
brought from them good or evil. So he met the strangers 
courteously, but he would not be the one to conduct them 
into the city. Carried back to his palace, Montezuma left 



Cortes 



51 



the Spaniards to be escorted slowly after him by some of 
the nobles. 

The long and interesting story about Cortes and Monte- 
zuma cannot be given here. 




W^ 




Meeting of Cortes and Montezuma 

Montezuma was all too kind and gentle to withstand the 
wily and cruel Spaniards. He was made prisoner by them, 
and, although he was allowed to live in a palace, there 
was always a strong guard before the gates. One day 

heavy irons were fastened to his feet, just to show him 
how completely he was in the power of the strangers. 
The heart of the kind monarch was broken. If he had 



52 Discoverers and Explorers 

fought against the Spaniards, he might have saved his 
country ; but he had tried by kindness to retain the friend- 
ship of the supposed messenger from the gods, and now 
he was a prisoner, disgraced before his people, and his 
nation was without a leader. 

The Aztecs had made many conquests and consequently 
many enemies ; but at home Montezuma was a kind ruler. 
His friendly greeting to Cortes had displeased his people, 
who began to call him weak. As if this were not enough, 
he was forced by Cortes to promise obedience to the 
Spanish king. Montezuma wept as he spoke the required 
words, but he still thought it right and wise to obey. To 
his nobles he said : — 

" They have come across the sea. Long years ago the 
greatest ruler of our land went away toward the rising 
sun, promising to come back some day, bringing us bless- 
ings. These men have come from him; we must obey." 

So, although tears ran down his cheeks as he spoke, 
Montezuma, the great, free, rich king of all the Aztecs, 
gave the promise that Cortes demanded. It was so sad to 
see him in such sorrow and still doing what he believed to 
be right, that even some of the Spaniards wept. Hard 
and rough as they were, the tears ran down their cheeks as 
they listened to him. They had learned to like this man 
who was now promising that he would obey an emperor 
whom he had never seen, their own king, Charles V, far 
away on the other side of the Atlantic. 

To show that he meant all that he had promised, Monte- 
zuma caused great heaps of treasures to be put before 
the Spaniards. There were large piles of gold and 



Cortes 53 

silver dishes, of the wonderful cloth made by the Aztecs, 
of gold in small grains, and in bars as it had been melted 
down for the treasury. Then there were beautiful Mexi- 
can ornaments, birds, insects, flowers, all of gold; and 
there were collars, bracelets, fans of gold and feathers, 
with pearls and precious stones scattered over them. 

Even the Spaniards were amazed at all the wealth 
before them ; but they did not wait long before taking 
possession. After the king's share had been laid aside, 
the men fell to quarreling bitterly about dividing the rest 
of the treasure. 

Poor Montezuma ! he had not much longer to live, but 
he had much to suffer. Bitterest of all to the heart of 
the proud but fond king, his own people turned against 
him, saying that he was the friend of the Spaniards and 
the enemy of his own nation. 

At length the people of Mexico determined to drive 
the Spaniards out of their city and to release their king. 
There was only a handful of the white people and their 
allies, compared with the great numbers of Indians soon 
massed around the palace where the Spanish army was 
lodged. Montezuma, who still believed that Cortes had 
come from the gods, wished to help his captors. He 
was led by the guard to a balcony from which he spoke 
to a multitude of his subjects below, trying to quell their 
rage ; but he succeeded only in turning it against himself. 
The Indians soon began to grow angry at what they called 
their monarch's weakness; they said he was a woman, 
and not a man to lead his people in the hour of their 
need. Some one raised a bow and pointed it at the king; 



54 



Discoverers and Explorers 



others saw the motion, and, picking up mud, stones, sticks, 
threw them at their once loved and reverenced monarch. 
A stone struck Montezuma on the head and he fell to 
the floor. Seriously injured, he was carried to his room. 
He could endure no more ; his own people had deserted 
him, and the man whom he had tried to 
serve held him a prisoner. Far worse 
than the stone which struck him down 
was the hatred to be read in every eye. 
He would not take any of the medicines 
brought him by the Spaniards ; he tore 
off the bandages which they put on his 
wound. In a few days he died, dis- 
graced, broken-hearted, but still half 
believing that the man who had so 
humiliated him was one sent by the 
gods. 

On Cortes lies the death of Monte- 
zuma and the ruin of a great and pow- 
erful nation. He destroyed the civilization of the Aztecs, 
the highest race in North America when the Europeans 
came. He made wretched slaves of a people that had 
opened to him the gates of their city. But while the 
cruelty of Cortes must be condemned, it must be remem- 
bered that, according to the spirit of his age, he was a 
wonderful conqueror and leader of men. That he was 
not wantonly cruel is proved by his later life, when, as 
governor of Mexico, the Indians themselves recognized 
his justice. He was also sincere in his love for adven- 
ture and exploration ; and when he lost favor with the 




An Aztec warrior 



Cortes 5 5 

court of Spain, he spent large sums from his private 
fortune in order to send expeditions along the Pacific 
coast. It was his never-dying energy in these efforts 
which helped bring about the later discovery of Cali- 
fornia, for he inspired others with his belief that some 
wonderful country lay to the north. It is supposed to 
have been Cortes who first gave the name California to 
the lands beyond Mexico. On one of his expeditions, 
when ill luck had followed him, and his people were well- 
nigh hopeless, Cortes called the barren land on which 
they were resting, California. It was the name of a 
fabled island of wondrous wealth ; and, half believing that 
they had reached some such promising country, his men 
aroused themselves from their despair. 

The name clung to the peninsula, which we now call 
Lower California ; it was given to the gulf on its eastern 
side, once known as the Sea of Cortes ; and it finally 
attached itself to the mainland farther north. 

Enemies, jealous of the fame of Cortes, made trouble 
between him and his emperor. Twice he went to Spain 
to right himself with the monarch. On his first visit, al- 
though great attention was paid him, the Cortes who was 
trying to secure justice and favor from the throne was a 
different man from the one who had sent home such vast 
quantities of gold. As a mark of what was called special 
favor, he was allowed to return to Mexico, where he con- 
tinued his explorations at his own expense. Still his 
enemies pursued him, and finally they forced him to go 
again to Spain to meet his emperor, Charles V. There 
at the court he waited long for justice, overlooked and 



56 Discoverers and Explorers 

neglected, until all hope of recognition for his services 
was past. Finally he died, disheartened by the treatment 
shown him. 

By the time that Cortes returned to Spain there were 
many Spaniards in Mexico, all eager to gather wealth. 
They searched everywhere, and were ready to believe any 
story, however exaggerated, of the splendors of distant 
lands. One of the tales that they heard was about the 
island of California, — the same that Cortes told his sol- 
diers when they were ready to despair. 

This wonderful island was said to be not far from India. 
Its inhabitants were women, all of them black. They 
were strong and fearless, well armed, and such excellent 
soldiers that no one dared go to their island. Instead of 
being afraid of war, these women were true Amazons, 
killing all who came to interfere with them. They were 
very rich in gold and jewels ; they wore armor made of 
gold ; their weapons were of gold. 

This romance helped to give zest to the search for gold, 
and to give the name California to the lands found by the 
Spanish explorers. 

Questions. — What led Cortes to go to Mexico? Why did Monte- 
zuma wish Cortes to stay away from the capital? Why did he send 
the Spaniards gold and rich presents? What were the results of Mon- 
tezuma^s belief about the white men? 

How was the civilization of the Aztecs shown? In what respects 
were they still simple savages, the inferiors of the Europeans? 

In what way was Cortes rewarded for his discoveries and exploration? 



CHAPTER IV 

REPORTS OF THE SEVEN CITIES 

In their efforts to find wealth the Spaniards in Mexico 
were always asking the Indians if they knew where gold 
or silver could be found. Probably the natives did not 
always understand them, but simply tried to get rid of their 
questioners ; hence there were many false reports which 
sent the Spaniards on useless journeys. 

One of the governors of Mexico had an Indian slave, 
Tejos, 1 who had once lived far to the north of Mexico. 
He belonged, in fact, to the tribe which gave its name to 
the present state of Texas. Tejos was fond of telling how 
his father had traveled from one tribe to another, selling 
feathers to the Indians. These feathers, he said, were 
used in making headdresses, and they were often paid 
for in gold and silver. 

The governor questioned Tejos about the places which 
his father had visited, asking him if he had ever been taken 
on those trading trips. In reply Tejos said that he could 
easily find the rich cities, which he well remembered, for 
he had been with his father and knew the places very 
well. He said that they were nearly as large as Mexico, 
and that there were seven of them, known as the Seven 

1 Tejos (Ta'hos). 
57 






58 Discoverers and Explorers 

Cities of Cibola. 1 To the governor's disappointment, Tejos 
said that they were far from Mexico, that it would be nec- 
essary to travel many days on the desert, and to go some 
distance beyond it. 

Not discouraged by the length and dangers of the jour- 
ney, the governor hurriedly collected an army and started 
for the land of the Seven Cities of Cibola, as every one 
now called the wonderful country described by Tejos. 
The march began with flags flying, with armor shining, 
and with loud laughing and joking ; for every one ex- 
pected to return soon, loaded down with the precious gold 
of which the Spaniards were always dreaming. How dif- 
ferent was the coming home ! The men had suffered from 
hunger while crossing the desert, and many had died of 
thirst; some had been killed by savage Indians; and no- 
where had any trace of the seven cities been found. The 
soldiers were discouraged, and only too glad to return to 
Mexico. The governor was in trouble with the emperor 
and had to go back to Spain, and, for a time, people 
almost ceased to talk of the famous seven cities. 

Tejos's story had seemed strange to the Spaniards, but 
the second time they heard about the seven cities it was in 
a far more remarkable manner. Some Spanish explorers, 
who had been in the northern part of Mexico, returned 
one day with four men who had not left the city with 
them. Queer-looking creatures they were. Their only 
clothes were the skins of wild beasts ; their hands and 
feet were so hardened that they looked like the claws and 
hoofs of birds and animals ; their hair and beards were 

1 Cibola (Se'bo-la). 



Reports of the Seven Cities 59 

long and matted. The strangers looked like wild men 
from the desert. 

One of these men was taller than the rest. He was 
thinner than they, if that were possible ; but his eyes 
shone bright and clear, and he spoke and acted like a 




" The strangers looked like wild men " 

commander. There were two other white men and a 
negro in the little company brought thus strangely out of 
the wilderness. They spoke Spanish, and were so glad 
to hear their own language from other lips that they were 
nearly frantic with joy. Many of those who crowded 
around to watch the strange scene called the poor beings 
madmen, and, as they listened to the story they told, said 
that they were crazed by trouble. Again and again the 
wild-looking men insisted that they were Spaniards. 



60 Discoverers and Explorers 

They said that they came from Florida, and that for years 
they had been wandering in the country of the Indians. 
Again the listeners laughed and touched their foreheads, 
as if sure that these were the dreams of crazy men. 
Florida was far away, and no white man had ever crossed 
the countries between ; such a story was too improbable 
to be believed. 

Finally the men were taken to the governor, who told 
the leader to narrate his experiences once more. The tall 
man told him that he was Cabeza de Vaca ; 1 that the two 
white men with him were Spaniards like himself, and that 
the negro, Stephen, had followed him through all his 
sufferings and wanderings across the continent. 

It was now nearly nine years, said De Vaca, since they 
had landed in Florida with a large company of Span- 
ish explorers. They had met with many misfortunes. 
They had marched far into the interior, hoping to find 
rich cities to plunder. One large river after another was 
crossed, swamp after swamp was waded through, day after 
day the men went hungry. At first the Indians left them 
alone, but finally began to attack them whenever there 
was a chance. At last, sick and discouraged, the men 
could go no farther. The ships which had brought them 
from Cuba had returned, and they therefore decided to 
build boats or rafts and go to Mexico by water. They had 
no nails, saws, axes, or other tools with which to work. 
They had no ropes or sails with which to fit out boats if 
they should succeed in making them. They were almost 
without food, and hostile savages were around them. 

1 Cabeza de Vaca (Ca-ba'tha da Va'ca). 



Reports of tlie Seven Cities 61 

" We decided,'' said De Vaca, " to make tools and nails 
out of the stirrups, spurs, and crossbows that we had with 
us. And, as we had little food, we agreed that every 
third day we would kill one of the few horses that were 
left us, and eat the meat, saving the manes and tails for 
making ropes when we had finished our boats." 

But the boats that they made were all lost on the stormy 
Gulf of Mexico, and the few wretched Spaniards who 
escaped drowning were cast on shore among the Indians. 
Although their lives were spared, they were made slaves 
by their savage captors. They worked, until, as De Vaca 
said, "My fingers were so worn that, did a straw but 
touch them, it would draw blood." 

At last De Vaca escaped from these savages and found 
his way to another tribe farther west. There he was 
better treated and stayed about six years. Sometimes he 
traveled for the Indians as a kind of peddler, and wherever 
he went he was always on the lookout to learn which way 
he should go to reach Mexico. 

When at length he escaped from his captors, he took 
with him two other Spaniards and the negro Stephen, all 
of whom had been slaves like himself. They started west, 
going as fast as their weakness and the dangers around 
them would permit. Again and again they asked to be 
sent to the place where the sun sets. Sometimes they 
were helped by friendly Indians ; sometimes they were 
kept for a while as prisoners ; sometimes they were looked 
upon as gods or as great medicine men. Whenever they 
came to deserts or tribes of warlike Indians they were 
obliged to take roundabout routes. But they kept on in 



62 



Discoverers and Explorers 



the general direction of south and west, where they knew 
Mexico must be. 

Finally they heard rumors of white men farther west. 
They came to a place where horses had been tied to a 
stake. Surely this was a sign of Spaniards. Almost with- 
out rest they pushed on until they overtook the white men. 
How they longed for and still dreaded the first words from 
their lips! Would they be Spanish, or were the poor 
strangers still among enemies ? The first words set at rest 
all doubts and fears. It was their native tongue which the 




wanderers heard ; but it was some time before De Vaca and 
his friends could make their countrymen believe their 
story. 

The story of De Vaca was deeply interesting to the 
governor; but when he had finished it, there was some- 
thing else which the eager listener wanted to know. Had 
the Spaniards seen any gold and silver on their wander- 



Reports of the Seven Cities 63 

ings ? Were there any rich cities to plunder ? Yes, De 
Vaca had heard of large cities, and he was sure that there 
were precious metals in the country through which he had 
passed. The Indians had had some, and they spoke of 
jewels, or so De Vaca had understood them. His words 
revived the old story about the Seven Cities of Cibola and 
the rich country to the north. Again the Spaniards deter- 
mined to hunt for those cities. All the old enthusiasm to 
explore the interior was awakened, and expeditions were 
soon on their way to the north. Before the Spaniards, 
now, was the real California of their dreams, but they were 
not yet to discover it or its hidden wealth. 

Questions. — What kind of cities did the Spaniards picture to them- 
selves from the reports of Tejos and Cabeza de Vaca? What was knowl- 
edge and what was hearsay in the stones told by the two men? In 
what direction from Mexico did they imagine the wonderful cities to be 
located? What was the route followed by Cabeza de Vaca? What 
besides the appearance of De Vaca and his companions led the Spaniards 
to believe them crazed? How could the Spaniards account for their 
coming except by believing their story? What probably led the Span- 
iards to accept as true the story of the wanderers? 



CHAPTER V 
FRAY MARCOS DE NIZA 

Among those who were most interested by the stories of 
Cabeza de Vaca was a priest called Fray Marcos de Niza. 1 
He met and talked with the wanderers from Florida, and 
as he listened to their accounts of the countries to the 
north, he was stirred by the desire to see them for himself. 

Fray Marcos was a bold man, for he planned to go 
almost alone into the savage country from which De Vaca 
had recently escaped. He was, however, well fitted for 
such an undertaking, for he had been in Peru with Pizarro, 
and he had lived and worked long among the Indians of 
Mexico. He persuaded the negro Stephen to go with him as 
a guide, and a few Indian servants carried the things which 
he might need on the way. 

The Indians for the most part treated him in a kindly 
manner; and as he neared the farther limit of his explora- 
tions, he sent the negro Stephen ahead of his companions 
to hunt out the way. Stephen put up crosses at different 
points to indicate the road which he had taken ; he also 
either left some statement of what he had learned, or sent 
back a messenger with news for the priest. At last 
word was taken back that the seven cities were not far in 

1 Niza (Net'sa). 
64 



Fray Marcos de Niza 65 

advance of the little party. Fray Marcos hastened on, 
feeling that the end of his journey was near; but as he 
approached the valley where the cities were said to be, he 
was met by some of the Indian servants who had followed 
Stephen. They were in great fear, and brought the 
appalling news that the negro had been killed by the 
inhabitants of the first city. 

Fray Marcos was in a grievous dilemma. His guide 
was dead ; his Mexican Indians were so frightened that 
they refused to go near the city again. Bold as the priest 
was, he did not wish to take the risk of losing his life. 
He wanted to take back to Mexico an account of the 
country which he had explored, and of the seven cities 
which were at last discovered. He determined to have a 
view of the wonderful cities, for he was told that they were 
not far away. Going to the top of a hill that overlooked 
the valley beyond him, he gazed upon the land that he 
had come so far to find. 

Scattered on the plain below were, indeed, seven cities, 
or villages. To the priest's excited imagination they 
seemed to rival the splendors of Mexico and Peru. The 
houses were very large, four, five, and even seven stories 
in height, with flat roofs, and built of something that 
shone in the sun, so thought Fray Marcos. For days the 
Indians along his route had been telling him of the mag- 
nificence of these cities ; they were without doubt the 
same of which Cabeza de Vaca had heard when he was far 
to the southeast. The friar remembered the wealth of 
the palaces of Mexico and Peru, and pictured to himself the 
rich rooms probably in the houses before him. He called 

SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 5 



66 Discoverers and Explore}^ 

to mind the tales told by the Indians about emeralds and 
turquoises over the doors of the dwellings in the seven 
cities. He could accept any report that came to his ears. 
Fray Marcos gazed long at the scene below him, and 
then turned slowly back toward Mexico, to tell his story 
to eager listeners. 

His journey had been indeed a remarkable one; and 
he told not only what he had seen himself, but all that 
had been related to him by the Indians, and all that his 
fancy had pictured. More marvelous still grew the stories 
as they passed quickly from mouth to mouth among the 
Spaniards in Mexico. Everybody was fired with the 
desire to start immediately for the seven cities. The com- 
mon soldiers who were to be sent by the governor were 
looked on with envy, and sometimes their places were 
bought, if the lucky men could be induced to sell. 

It was in the summer of 1539 that Fray Marcos went 
to the seven cities. Cortes was still in Mexico, but it was 
after his removal from the governorship. The viceroy, or 
governor of the country, was Mendoza, who was eager to 
outdo Cortes in his discoveries. A third man in Mexico 
had been given permission to send out exploring parties ; 
this was Alvarado, the governor of one of the provinces. 
On the return of Fray Marcos with his stories of great 
wealth, all three of these men planned to make expeditions 
into the north. Cortes started his first, sending it by 
water up the coast, under the command of an able man 
named Ulloa. The shore was explored some distance 
north, and then the ships were obliged to return on ac- 
count of severe winds, mutinous sailors, and scanty pro- 



Fray Marcos de Niza 67 

visions. The enemies of Cortes were working against 
him with the emperor, and soon after the return of his 
vessels in 1540, Cortes sailed for Spain on a last, un- 
happy voyage never to return. 

Alvarado collected a large fleet, but he finally joined his 
forces with those of Mendoza. Mendoza planned two 
expeditions for the spring of 1540. One was to go by land 
to take possession of the seven cities found by Fray 
Marcos ; the other was to go by water up the coast to a 
point near which the land company was supposed to pass, 
and to send it men and supplies if such were needed. The 
leader of the land force was Coronado ; the fleet was under 
the charge of Alarcon. 

Questions. — In what ways did the early journeys of Fray Marcos 
fit him for the difficulties of looking for the seven cities ? Mention at 
least three characteristics of the man. Why should he wish to look at 
the cities when it was not possible for him to enter them ? What did 
he really see ? What led him to imagine more than he saw ? 



CHAPTER VI 
CORONADO AND ALARCON * 

Coronado was the rich and powerful governor of one 
of the provinces of New Spain, as Mexico was called at 
that time. He had been much interested 
in the story of Cabeza de Vaca, and in his 
belief that rich countries lay to the north ; 
he had helped plan the expedition of Fray 
Marcos ; and, on the return of that priest, 
he had hurried with him to the viceroy, to 
urge that an expedition should be sent 
immediately to the seven cities. It was 
natural that a man so interested in affairs 
should be chosen as a leader, especially 
since he was a general favorite in Mexico, 
and connected with some of the first fami- 
lies in Spain. 

It was a fine army which Coronado led 
But before the deserts were crossed, many 
of the men became discouraged. The places mentioned 
by Fray Marcos were very disappointing. A building 
which he had described enthusiastically as almost like a 
fort was found to be only a ruined house, a little larger 

1 Alarcon (A-lar-kon'). 
6S 




One of Coronado's 
soldiers 

out of Mexico. 



Corona do and Alarcon 



6 9 



than some others, and plastered on the outside with red 
mud. Every one, including Coronado, began to feel that 
their guide had seen many things through the rosy specta- 
cles of fancy, and that they would find the realities far 
duller in color. But there was still faith in the seven 
cities ; these had been heard of from so many sources 
that they, at least, must be genuine. 

How bitter, then, was the disappointment when the hill 
was finally reached from which Fray Marcos had looked 




A native village in New Mexico 



down on the famous cities. Houses of mud ! Villages, 
not one of which could shelter more than two hundred 
people ! To be sure the houses were palaces when com- 
pared with the Indian huts, but those were so wretched. 
The beans, melons, and pumpkins raised in the rich valley 



JO Discoverers and Explorers 

must have seemed abundance to the natives who often 
went hungry in the- dry sandy regions. But how had the 
fame of these cities been spread so far, if the buildings 
below were all on which to base the stories of the splen- 
dors of the long-sought seven cities ? No one could tell. 

There was no time to give expression to anger or dis- 
appointment ; no time even to gaze at the scene below. 
The Indians of the first village were drawn up to fight the 
approaching strangers. The battle which followed was 
fierce but short. Coronado was wounded twice, for he 
was constantly in the front of the fight, and his shining 
' armor was a good target for the stones and arrows of the 
Indians. Spanish arms conquered, however, and in less 
I than an hour the battle was won. Soon after, the neighbor- 
ling villages also yielded. The first village was made the 
stronghold for the Spanish army, and thus the rule of 
Spain began in the southwestern part of what is now the 
United States. 

In Coronado's letter to Mendoza, telling of the victory, 
he says that the name Cibola, by which the seven cities 
had so long been known, was given by the natives to the 
whole kingdom, and not to any one village. As nearly as 
the place can be located now, it is in southern or western 
New Mexico. When the traveler of to-day looks at the 
remarkable buildings of the Cliff Dwellers of this region, 
and considers that they were built long before the white 
people had visited the land, he can understand how great 
they seemed to the simple natives in their lowly huts, and 
he can almost excuse the wild fancies of Fray Marcos 
about their wealth. 



Coronado and Alarcon 



7* 



Coronado was determined to learn all that he could 
about the country to which he had come. He heard 
nothing of gold mines, although the Indians showed him 
some small pieces of both gold and silver, but he deter- 




Homes of the Cliff Dwellers 



mined to investigate for himself. At one village in what 
is now New Mexico, he met an Indian whom the Spaniards 
nicknamed u the Turk," on account of his peculiar appear- 
ance. He had been brought captive to New Mexico after 
one of the numerous wars between the fierce tribes of that 
country and the people farther east. He was unhappy 
and eager to return to his home far to the east, and he 
seems to have thought that here was a chance to go under 
strong protection. He heard the white men inquiring 
about gold, silver, emeralds, turquoises; and we must 



72 



Discoverers and Explorers 



believe that he was clever enough to make them think that 
he could lead them to great wealth. He told about great 
quantities of gold and silver to the north and east ; about 
large rivers which watered the land ; green grass and 
forests of trees, such as could not grow in the deserts of 
New Mexico, were everywhere, he said. The stories of 
vast wealth were false, but much of what he said was true, 
for the man was probably a prisoner from the region of 
prairies and forests. 

The Spaniards eagerly believed all that was told them, 
and started off toward the plains of Kansas, taking the 
so-called " Turk " with them as a guide. Thus began 
one of the most notable marches in the history of our 

country. 
7" It was not long 
before the company 
reached the land 
where the "wild 
cows " lived, as the 
Spaniards called the buffa- 
loes. The soldiers wrote 
home about them as "the 
most monstrous thing in 
the way of an animal 
which has ever been seen 
or read about." They 
soon killed some, although 
it was at the risk of their horses' lives, so strong and 
fierce were the buffaloes. There were as many of 
them as there were fish in the Sea, said the men ; and 







- 



.&■ 



I 



Buffaloes 



Corona do and Alarcon 



73 



on all their long march they were not again for any 
length of time out of sight of the immense herds which 
then roamed over the country north and east of New 
Mexico. 

The farther Coronado and his little army went, the less 
their surroundings looked like the rich places which the 
guide had promised to show them, and the more the Span- 
iards doubted the Indi- 
an's story. They be- 
gan to think that he 
had been sent by the 
Indians of New Mexico 
to lead them on and on 
in these endless plains 
until they died or were 
killed by the savages. 
At last the soldiers 
begged not to be taken 
farther into this awful, unknown country. Coronado 
thought that it was unnecessary for the whole army to 
go on, and therefore sent back all but about thirty men. 
With these he decided to take all the risks and push on 
to Quivira, the city about which he had heard in Cibola, 
and which the guide had told him was so rich. 

Coronado and his men marched onward until they 
reached the plains of southern Kansas. Almost in fear they 
looked around. The plains, so great, so wide, so unbounded, 
seemed to them like the ocean. In all directions was the 
low horizon line, unbroken by trees or mountains. There 
was nothing to guide them, and the men asked themselves 




Picture of buffalo drawn by Spaniards 



74 Discoverers and Explorers 

if they should ever be able to find their way back to 
Mexico. 

" There are no paths here," they complained to each 
other, " except those made by the wild cows, and they lead 
nowhere. The earth is so level that we do not know where 
we are or where we have been. If one of us wanders 
away after the cows, and loses sight of the rest of the 
party, he is lost forever, and will die miserably." 

Finally Coronado reached Quivira. But how different 
it was from the stories he had heard from the lips of the 
guide ! Instead of large houses there were only huts of 
straw. Instead of cities there were wretched, dirty little 
villages ; for the Indians kept moving from place to place, 
wherever they were hunting the buffaloes which fur- 
nished them with nearly everything needed to eat and 
to wear. 

The natives did not know what Coronado meant by gold 
and silver, and they had no jewels. They did have a few 
copper vessels, which they said came from " on beyond." 
They raised corn, beans, melons, and pumpkins ; and the 
Spaniards saw some wild fruit and nuts growing. But 
there was nothing in Quivira to reward Coronado for all 
his time and labor, nor to pay back the money he had 
borrowed in order to make the expedition. He would be 
a ruined man when he returned to Mexico. 

Besides his own disappointment, there was the king of 
Spain to think about. He had found nothing in all this 
vast country that the king would care to have ; and it was 
so far away from Mexico that it would be useless to try 
to make settlements. What could Coronado write home 



Coronado and Alarcon 



75 



about this expedition from which so much had been hoped ? 
Perhaps the king would lose all faith in him, and leave him 
to his debts and disappointments. 

It was a sad letter which the young explorer wrote the 
king. In it he speaks of the stories told him about the 




fine city of Quivira ; and about its kings who " were served 
with dishes of gold, and other very magnificent things." 
He continued in the same letter: "Although I did not 
believe it before I had set eves on it, it appeared to me 
that it should be investigated for Your Majesty's service, 
and I determined to zo and see it with the men I have 



y6 Discoverers and Explorers 

here." He finished the letter in a way considered proper 
by so loyal and courteous a subject as himself. 

" And may our Lord protect the Holy Imperial Catholic 
person of Your Majesty, with increase of greater kingdoms 
and powers, as your loyal servants and vassals desire. 
Your Majesty's humble servant and vassal, who would kiss 
the Royal feet and hands. 

" Francisco Vasquez 1 Coronado." 

There was little brightness for Coronado on his return 
to Mexico. Some who have written of his life say that 
the viceroy was very angry with him because he had 
given up the march to the north. For many who had 
not been on that trying journey over the deserts, through 
the mountains, and across the sealike plains, still be- 
lieved that these lands were as rich in gold and silver as 
Mexico had been. Broken-hearted by disappointment, 
and overwhelmed with debts, Coronado went to his own 
province. There he lived almost alone, seeing few people ; 
and there he died neglected. 

Neither he nor those who knew him ever realized what 
a wonderful march he had made. To-day it can be under- 
stood. He went from Mexico through the deserts of New 
Mexico, north and east into southern Kansas. A priest 
who went with him, and who decided to stay in Quivira to 
convert the Indians, was killed there not long after the 
departure of Coronado. He was probably the first martyr 
of the church in the central part of our country. He was 
at his good work of trying to convert the Indians of Kan- 

1 Vasquez (Vaz-keth'). 



Coronado and Alarcon 



77 



sas only fifty years after the landing of Columbus on the 
West India islands, and seventy-five years before the Eng- 
lish made their settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts. 

Some of the explorers were 
sorry to give up the attempt 
to learn more about this great 
interior plain, and in later 
days one of them wrote thus 
about it : — 

"God reserved its discov- 
ery to others. He only per- 
mitted us to boast of being 
the first who had any knowl- 
edge of it. May the Lord's 
will be done." 

While Coronado was mak- 
ing his fruitless march to 
Quivira, Alarcon was coast- 
ing up the shore with two 
ships, hoping that at some 
of his landing places he 
would get news of the land 
expedition. The Spanish at 
that time still believed that 
Lower California was an 
island, cut off from the 

mainland by the Gulf of California, or the Sea of Cortes, 
as it was then often called. 

Alarcon was ordered to sail up the eastern coast of the 




Canyon of the Colorado 



78 Discoverers and Explorers 

supposed island. This course brought him to the head of 
the gulf, which had been visited but not explored by Ulloa 
on his voyage for Cortes. The broad stream flowing into 
the gulf was discovered, and Alarcon sailed up it a short 
distance. He was told by the Indians that Cibola was 
only a few days' march inland, but not one of his men 
would venture to carry a message to Coronado, who was 
said to be already there. Before Alarcon could arrange to 
take his whole force across the dry and hostile country 
between him and Cibola, he learned that Coronado had 
gone farther north. It was useless to try to overtake him, . 
so Alarcon returned to Mexico, having accomplished noth- 
ing but the discovery of the Colorado River. 

Mendoza was angered that the expedition had done so 
little. The leader was disgraced, and left to die of grief 
in a distant province. Surely the Spanish discoverers and 
explorers paid heavily for any lack of success. 

Two years after the return of Alarcon, Mendoza sent 
out another expedition under the charge of a noted 
Portuguese navigator, Juan Cabrillo. 

Questions. — With what object in view did Coronado leave Mexico? 
When he and his soldiers were on the hill overlooking the Indian 
villages why did they not picture to themselves rich cities like those 
imagined by Fray Marcos? Why should these cities have seemed so 
great to the neighboring tribes of Indians? What reason for thinking 
that they may have been the ones visited by Tejos and his father? 
Why may they have been those heard about by Cabeza de Yaca? Was 
there any reason for their fame among the natives? 

Why did not Spain claim all the vast country traversed by Coro- 
nado? Why was Coronado sad when he wrote his letter to the king of 
Spain ? 

Why was Alarcon's expedition a failure? 



CHAPTER VII 

THE SPANISH CLAIM TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN 

To understand why Spain thought that she had so good 
a claim to the Pacific Ocean, to all the islands in it, and 
to all the lands border- 
ing it, we must go back 
to the beginning of the 
period of discoveries. 

Before Columbus 
started out from Spain 
to find Asia by sailing 
west, several of the 
nations of Europe had 
been getting rich goods 
from India and China, 
which had been car- 
ried by caravans across the deserts of Asia. The cara- 
van routes, however, were so dangerous and the journey 
required so much time, that people began to wonder 
if some easier way could not be discovered. This thought 
led Columbus to study all the maps and charts he could 
find, to see how much truth there was in the theory 
that the world is round. The same idea caused the Por- 
tuguese to send out ships to see if, by sailing around 

79 




Spanish ships of war 



80 Discoverers arid Explorers 

Africa, a water route to China and India might not be 
discovered. Both Spain and Portugal were trying to find 
an easier way to reach the far East ; the one by going 
west, the other by going east. 

It must be remembered that at this time most of the 
people of Europe thought the world to be flat, and the 
only countries known to them outside of Europe were 
those in Asia and Africa which bordered the Mediterra- 
nean Sea. Africa was almost unknown, except that it 
was a large region south of the Mediterranean. With all 
the world so strange to them, it required as much courage 
for the Portuguese sailors to explore the hot coasts of 
western Africa as it did for Columbus to steer his vessel 
across the seemingly shoreless Atlantic. 

The Portuguese were the first to reach the hoped-for 
rich lands of the East, and they came back loaded with 
the silks, spices, and jewels for which all Europe was so 
ready to pay the highest prices. Their success meant 
wealth to Portugal. About the time that they returned, 
Columbus came back from his first voyage, and told of 
the lands which he had found. The Spanish were greatly 
disappointed, for Columbus had but few treasures to show, 
and the savage lands which he had discovered were not 
much like the golden kingdoms of India and China. 
Although he was aided in making his voyages, far more 
interest was shown in the search by other Spanish vessels 
for the countries visited regularly by the Portuguese. 

When it became generally known that Columbus had 
reached new islands in the west, trouble arose between 
Spain and Portugal. Ignorant of the real size of the 



The Spanisli Claim to the Pacific Ocean 8 1 

world, they thought that their vessels had found the same 
countries or their islands. They did not know that 
America and the wide Pacific lay between the islands 
where Columbus had seen the gentle, friendly people 
whom he had called Indians, and the places where the 
Portuguese had bought their goods. Neither country 
would give up its claim to the lands found, nor to the 
right to sail over the ocean to them ; neither would con- 
sent to share its newly discovered possessions with the 
other. Finally, since they had to agree on something, 
they said that they would let the Pope settle their quarrel. 
The Pope, Alexander VI, gave the quarreling nations 
a famous decision. He divided the still unknown world 
between them. He said that they should imagine a line 
drawn north and south through the Atlantic, three hun- 
dred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. 
The lands found, or to be found, west of this line should 
belong to Spain; all those east of it to Portugal. With 
this decision both countries were very well satisfied, as, 
indeed, they ought to be ; for it gave the western half of 
the world to one of them, and the eastern half to the 
other, and left nothing for the other countries of Europe. 
Both nations hurried ships and men to the far East ; those 
from Spain went west around South America, those from 
Portugal went east around the southern part of Africa. 
All went well until the ships of the two countries met 
on the farther side of the world. This meeting took place 
in the Philippine Islands, where the old quarrel began 
again, and each nation was as disobliging as possible to 
the other. 

SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 6 



82 Discoverers and Explorers 

Portugal claimed all of the ocean east of Europe, as 
well as all of the land, and would not let the Spanish sail 
around the Cape of Good Hope, although that was by far 
the shorter route. Therefore, the Spanish trading vessels 
in the far East were obliged to take the long way home, — 
across the Pacific, around South America, and across the 
Atlantic. This was a very, very long voyage, and it 
required so many weeks to cross the Pacific that the 
sailors often became sick with scurvy ; so there was much 
talk about trying to make a settlement somewhere on the 
coast of California. There were other reasons why Spain 
was desirous of exploring the countries on the Pacific. 
It was believed that the Pacific and the Atlantic were 
connected by a strait, somewhere to the north, which had 
even been named, the Straits of Anian. It was very 
important for Spain to find this passage, and so shorten 
the voyage to the East. By and by, also, English vessels 
had ventured into the Pacific, and coasted along the 
western shores of North America ; and there was reason 
to fear that England would claim the land visited by her 
ships. Consequently the Spanish king commanded that 
the northern coast of the Pacific should be claimed and 
settled. 

Questions. — What did Spain hope for from the voyages of 
Columbus ? What nation was her rival ? Why was there no trouble 
with other nations when the Pope divided the world between the two ? 
Do you know whether this decision held good ? Into what explora- 
tions did it lead Spain ? Why are her trips studied here, and those of 
Portugal omitted ? Why did Spain finally decide to explore the Pacific 
coast of America ? Why had she not done so before ? 



CHAPTER VIII 

CABRILLO AND VISCAINO 

Juan Cabrillo, the leader whom Mendoza selected to 
command the expedition up the Pacific coast, was so brave 
and daring that the viceroy believed he would stop at no 
difficulty that could be overcome. At the same time he 
was so careful and had such good judgment that he would 
not rashly take any unnecessary risks. 

Cabrillo had two ships, both of which were small and 
slow. One of them was even without a deck to protect the 
sailors from the rough winds and storms which they might 
encounter. It was almost the last of June when the ex- 
plorer sailed from Navidad, on the western coast of Mexico, 
under orders to stop in all the important bays and harbors 
and to make maps and charts of the places visited. 

As the little fleet sailed north, Cabrillo landed at every 
convenient harbor and took possession of the adjoining 
country in the name of the king of Spain. He went far- 
ther north than any of the vessels which had been before 
him. He passed the coast of what is now called Lower 
California, and finally sailed into San Diego Bay. For the 
first time, probably, white men looked at the beautiful line 
of hills circling away from the ocean ; for the first time 
Point Loma stretched its long arms protecting]}' around 

83 



8 4 



Discoverers and Explorers 



the white man's ships. Charmed with the security of the 
landlocked bay, with the surrounding country sloping like 
an immense amphitheater to the blue water, and with 
the mellow sunlight over all, Cabrillo took possession for 
Spain. Whether he dreamed, while doing so, that the day 
would come when the ships of civilized nations would float 




Island of Santa Catalina 



on the bay and a city spring up on the sunny shores we 
do not know. 

Cabrillo could not stay long anywhere, no matter how 
attractive the place. He had been sent out to learn about 
the whole coast, and he pushed on farther north, to still 
unknown lands and waters. He visited the island of 
Santa Catalina, so famous for its beauty ; then he went 



Cabrillo and Viscaino 85 

back to the mainland, where the friendly Indians gazed in 
wonder at the great winged ships, as they called the sail- 
ing vessels. Again and again he landed to trade with the 
natives or to admire the region ; and he never failed to 
claim the country for Spain. The summer passed all too 
quickly for the voyage which he was expected to make. 

It was nearing winter when Cabrillo rounded Point Con- 
ception. Storms were soon rolling his little vessels and driv- 
ing them far from each other and out to sea. In the smaller 
one, which had no deck, the sailors suffered cruelly from 
the cold and waves. After the storm had spent its fury, the 
ships came together again and, rounding another point, 
they sailed into the quieter waters of a bay. To a project- 
ing headland past which they sailed, the name was given by 
which it is still known, Point Pinos. The quaintly shaped, 
wind-swept pines which suggested the name were greeted 
with pleasure by the sailors, for trees so near the ocean 
were rare all along the coast which they were exploring. 

Cabrillo wished to land, but even the bay was still too 
rough to permit him to anchor his ships securely ; so, to 
the regret of all on board, the cypress-grown shores were 
soon left behind. It remained for an explorer of a later 
day to give the bay its present name of Monterey. 

Slowly Cabrillo's little vessels worked their way north. 
Storms tossed and hindered them, and the sailors suffered 
much from the cold. Brave man as Cabrillo was, and anx- 
ious to obey orders and learn all about the coast, he finally 
knew it to be wiser to abandon the voyage. He was not 
far from San Francisco Bay when he gave the order to 
turn south; he started on his return, promising himself to 



86 Discoverers and Explorers 

come again into these waters, and sail along the coast that 
frowned so forbiddingly at him. 

Cabrillo had made his last voyage. Instead of going 
back to Mexico, he landed on an island off Santa Barbara. 




Point Pinos 



There he planned to spend the rest of the winter and then 
to start north again in the spring. But on the island he 
died and was buried. 

Even in his death he was true to the mission that the 
viceroy had given him, for almost his last words were to 
his chief pilot, urging, commanding, him to go on with 
the voyage in the spring, and to explore the coast as far 
as it was possible for any ship to sail. 



Cabi'illo and Viscaino 87 

Cabrillo's voyage was in 1542; it was not until 1598 
that any effort was made to establish a colony in even the 
northern part of Mexico. It was not until 1602, sixty 
years after the voyage of Cabrillo, that another Spanish 
vessel sailed into the harbors which he had visited. The 
man who was selected for this duty by the king of Spain 
was Viscaino ; he made one voyage up the coast in 1598, 
and another in 1602. On the first he did not go beyond 
Lower California; the second was more important, and is 
the one which we shall follow. 

Viscaino's voyage was not very different from Cabrillo's. 
He stopped in San Diego, where he was charmed by the bay, 
as Cabrillo had been. The sailors went to the top of the 
long ridge of Point Loma. Then the ships hurried north in 
search of the Straits of Anian. Viscaino stopped at Santa 
Catalina, as Cabrillo had done, and gave the island the 
name which it still bears. Then on he sailed, farther north. 
Still following the course of Cabrillo, he rounded the Point 
of Pines, and dropped anchor in the bay of Monterey. 

The sailors were glad, indeed, for the rest on land. 
They wandered from place to place, delighted with all 
they saw. The pines came down to the water's edge in 
some places, and, as it was December, the hills were already 
green from the winter rains. Monterey was wonderfully 
beautiful to the sailors, even as it is to us to-day. There 
was plenty of fresh water in the streams flowing to the sea, 
and in the springs along the shore. There were main 
wild animals, and the sailors enjoyed hunting and feast- 
ing. One place described by them became a landmark for 
those Spaniards who came many years later. This was a 



88 Discoverers and Explorers 

wide-spreading oak tree, close by the water's edge. Its 
limbs hung so low that some of them were swept by the 
waves. Near its roots springs of fresh water gushed out. 
Here Viscaino built a booth of green branches and had 
mass said. It was a fitting chapel in the wilderness. 

After about two weeks in Monterey the anchors were 
raised, and the ships sailed out on their search for the 
Straits of Anian. They sailed past the narrow Golden 
Gate that opens into the broad waters of San Francisco 
Bay. Whether it was hidden in fogs, as so often happens 
at that time of the year, or whether Viscaino was too far 
out to sea to notice it, we do not know; but he passed 
without seeing what is perhaps the finest harbor in all the 
world. He sailed on, almost to the southern boundary 
of Oregon, and then was forced to turn back on account 
of storms and the sickness of many of his sailors. 

In spite of all that Viscaino had discovered, and although 
he wrote a careful account of his voyage and sent it to the 
king of Spain, it was nearly two hundred years before any 
settlements were made north of Mexico. Such neglect 
could hardly be believed were it not for the fact that dur- 
ing that period the power of Spain had greatly declined. 
From being the first nation on the continent, she sank to 
an inferior power. California and the settlements on the 
Pacific coast were not forgotten, but they were neglected 
until the time of Father Serra and the missions. 

Questions. — What were two difficulties which Cabrillo had to meet 
on his voyage north ? What did his expeditions mean for Spain ? What 
hays would he surely mention in his report? Which one would probably 
be the most suitable harbor for the vessels from the Philippines? Why 
did Spain so long neglect the sailors on the Pacific? 



CHAPTER IX 
THE ENGLISH IN THE NORTH PACIFIC 

Spain and Portugal had divided the world between 
them before the other nations of Europe realized the fact 
that there was anything in the newly discovered coun- 
tries worth having. But as these two enterprising nations 
grew richer and richer by reason of their new possessions, 
both England and France decided to win a share of the 
wealth of the New World. Consequently many of their 
vessels crossed the Atlantic and visited the eastern coast 
of our country, but for many years none of them ven- 
tured so far away as the Pacific. 

No nation, however, had braver sailors than England, 
and when it was known that the Spanish and Portuguese 
had actually sailed round the world, English vessels were 
soon fitted out to attempt the same perilous exploit. Eng- 
land and Spain were not good friends in those days ; and as 
the galleons of Spain came home loaded with the treasures 
of Mexico and Peru, and later of the far East, English 
vessels were ready to lie in wait for them and take posses- 
sion of their riches. In our day this would be piracy ; but 
at that time there were no laws applying to the sea, and it 
was thought a very brave deed to seize a ship belonging 
to a foreign country and bring home her cargo. 

89 



go 



Discoverers and Explorers 



One of the most daring men at the court of Queen 
Elizabeth was Francis Drake. So eager was he to earn 
wealth and fame for England and for himself, and at the 
same time humble the power of Spain, that he determined 

to sail anywhere that Spanish ships 
could go and to seize their treasures 
of gold and silver for his country. 
On one of his early voyages he 
visited the Isthmus of Pan- 
ama, for the purpose of cap- 
turing Spanish treasures that 
were being carried across 
from the Pacific shore to the 
Gulf. While passing over 
the mountain ridge that lies 
between the two great waters, 
he climbed a tall tree which 
stood on the summit. He 
was delighted by the scene before him. To the west he 
looked down upon the Pacific, that great body of water of 
which he had heard but which no Englishman before him 
had ever seen. So carried away was he at the sight, that 
he knelt down and prayed that he might some day sail an 
English ship upon the waters of that mighty ocean where 
hitherto only Spanish vessels had sailed. It was not long 
before his desire was gratified. 

In 1577 he left England with five vessels, sailing to the 
west ; nearly three years later he returned with one ship, 
but he came from the east. He had sailed around the 
world, the first Englishman to make the wonderful voy- 




Sir Francis Drake 



The EnglisJi in the North Pacific 91 

age. The account of his adventures reads like pages from 
a story book, but only a few of them can be recounted 
here. 

From the first, he and his men were on the lookout for 
Spanish ships to plunder. Some small ones were taken 
when only a short distance out from England, and some 
Spanish galleons were seen along the coast of Brazil, but 
Drake hurried on toward the Pacific : there the treasure 
ships would be more abundant, and the Spanish would 
not be on their guard against English privateers as on 
the Atlantic. The passage through the Strait of Ma- 
gellan was very stormy, and Drake's small ships suffered 
greatly. While still on the Atlantic two of his five ves- 
sels had been sent back to England. While the fleet was 
passing through the straits another ship abandoned the 
enterprise and sailed for home ; for the men were already 
tired of the voyage, and eager to escape the perils that 
were before them. The remaining two vessels became 
separated, and one of them was never seen again. Only 
one ship, therefore, survived to sail triumphantly into the 
Pacific, and that was the ship which carried Drake him- 
self. This vessel had been known at first as the Pelican, 
but after passing the Strait of Magellan she was called 
the Golden Hind. 

Sailing northward along the coast of Chile, Drake cap- 
tured many Spanish treasure ships. He boarded one as 
she lay at anchor, nearly all her men having gone ashore. 
He secured a great quantity of gold in bars "shaped like 
brickbats," says the old chronicler who tells about it ; and 
"so much silver as did ballast the Golden Hind." After 



92 



Discoverers and Explorers 



the treasure had been put on board of Drake's vessel, the 
galleon was set adrift to go wherever she might be taken 
by winds and waves. In one place, where Drake landed 
for water, his men found a Spaniard asleep on the shore, 
while near him were lying thirteen large bars 

of silver, worth four thousand ducats in Spanish 

money. As the old chronicler says, " We 

took the silver and left 
the man." 

Drake captured so 
many Spanish vessels, 
whose loads he light- 
ened while he made 
his own heavy, that 
he at last began to 
think of returning 
to England. It was 
not safe to go back 
through the Strait 
of Magellan ; the 
Spaniards were watching for him there, and would have 
little mercy should they capture him. Besides, he remem- 
bered how the storms raged in the straits, and he did not 
like to take the risk of losing his one little vessel, heavily 
loaded as she was with prizes from the Spaniards. 

Drake knew of the many efforts which had been made 
to find a northern passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
and he determined to see if he could discover the straits 
from the Pacific side. He therefore sailed still farther 
north, past the coasts of Mexico and California. Finally 




The sleeping Spaniard 



The English in the North Pacific 93 

he reached just about the same latitude visited by Cabrillo's 
pilot in 1543. There the Golden Hind met bad weather, 
and the men on board were "grievously pinched" with 
cold. Drake had not found the hoped-for strait, but the 
storms with snow and ice warned him that he must give 
up his search. He caused the ship's course to be changed, 
and returned toward the south. 

The Golden Hind needed repairs, and somewhere near 
San Francisco, Drake entered a small bay, dropped an- 
chor, and stayed long enough to rest his men and to 
make his ship ready for the long voyage home. Drake 
believed that, difficult as it might be, the safest way to 
return to England was to take the Spanish route west 
across the Pacific to the Philippines and the East Indies, 
and thence to follow the Portuguese vessels around Africa 
into the Atlantic. 

Drake was well received by the Indians of the coast. 
They crowded around the crew, went on board the ship, 
and made long speeches in Indian to which Drake re- 
sponded in English. One day they put on Drake a head- 
dress of feathers, and tried to show him that they would 
consider him one of their chiefs. The Englishmen, how- 
ever, thought that the feathers were a crown, and that 
this was the Indian way of giving up all right to their 
country ; they were much pleased to accept the gift, and 
later made this act of the natives one of their claims to 
California and Oregon. 

As the Indians became better acquainted with the white 
people they brought in all their lame and sick to be healed 
by their visitors. Going to their chests, the English 



94 Discoverers and Explorers 

brought out medicines and plasters, and doctored all the 
aches and pains as well as they knew how. This treat- 
ment was so pleasing to the Indians that they not only 
came back for more of it themselves, but brought their 
friends from other tribes with them, and the English were 
kept busy using their simple remedies. 

This visit of Drake's to the coast of California had some 
very important results. Drake believed himself to be the 
first white man to discover that part of the world. In fact, 
his chronicler said: "It seemeth that the Spaniards hith- 
erto had never been in this part of the country, neither 
did ever discover the land by many degrees to the south- 
ward of this place." So Drake claimed all the region for 
England. Neither Spanish nor English, however, had 
discovered the most extensive bay in all the world, 
although it lay so near them. Cabrillo had approached 
to within two days' sail of the Golden Gate, and the 
next year his pilot passed close by the narrow entrance. 
Drake was anchored for thirty-six days within a day's 
travel of the great bay. But the hills kept their secret 
well for two hundred years more. 

Drake could leave no men behind him to hold the land 
he claimed, even had such a course seemed necessary. 
He therefore set up a sign that the region belonged to 
England. This was "a fair, great post," with a brass 
plate nailed upon it. On this plate were engraved the 
queen's name, the day and year of Drake's arrival, and 
also a statement that the natives had of their own free 
will given their lands and themselves into " her Majesty's 
hands." For lack of a better portrait of Queen Elizabeth, 



The English in the North Pacific 95 

a sixpence of the money of her reign, having on it the 
royal picture and arms, was placed under the plate. 
Drake's name was also written on this monument, and, in 
memory of Albion, as England is often called, the country 
was named New Albion. 

Everything which the roving freebooter could devise to 
hold the land for his monarch had now been done, and 
Drake began to make final preparations for his departure. 
The Golden Hind was made ready to sail. The cargo, 
which had been carefully guarded on shore while the 
ship was being overhauled, was reloaded. An abundance 
of fresh water and all the food that could be obtained 
were taken on board. 

The English had spent five weeks in the company of 
the Indians, and now that they were about to leave, the 
poor savages could hardly understand that these white 
men, who had seemed like gods to them, were really 
going away. They gave up all the gladness, the games, 
the jollity, with which they had tried to amuse their 
guests, and began to weep and groan, and tear the flesh 
with their finger nails until blood ran. The sailors find- 
ing that nothing would pacify their dark-skinned friends, 
finally began to sing psalms and to pray with them. The 
Indians had often listened to the sailors singing, and 
on all their visits had begged for music; so now they 
forgot their own way of saying good-by, and tried to 
imitate the English, lifting their hands and eyes to the 
skies just as they saw the white men doing. 

When the ship finally began to move slowly out of 
the little bay, the Indians were in great distress. They 



g6 Discoverers and Explorers 

ran along the coast to keep the vessel in sight, following the 
shores of the bay to the ocean ; at last they went to the 
top of a hill that they might watch the white sails far 
out at sea. As night came on, the sorrowful Indians built 
a great fire on the shore, whose red light Drake and his 
sailors could see long after they had lost sight of land. 

Interesting as is the account, it is not a part of our 
purpose to tell how Drake sailed on around the world. 
When the bold navigator reached England after nearly 
three years' absence, he was received with the greatest 
joy. Never before had so wonderful a voyage been made 
by an English vessel; never had one come home so 
loaded with Spanish treasures. 

Drake was the hero of the day. So pleased was Queen 
Elizabeth, that she honored him in many ways. She took 
dinner on board of the Golden Hind ; and on the deck she 
caused plain Francis Drake to become Sir Francis Drake, 
dubbing him a knight with his own sword. The queen 
even mightily offended the Spanish minister at her court 
by wearing in her royal hair some of the splendid jewels 
taken from the treasure ships of Spain. 

Questions. — What did England think about the division of the 
world between Spain and Portugal? How did she show this opinion? 
What was Drake's object when he started out from England? What 
two great and unexpected results were there from his trip? What dis- 
appointment did he meet in the North Pacific? Why was it a serious 
one for Drake? What change did it make necessary in his plans ? What 
source for a quarrel between Spain and England in Drake's voyage? 
Had the English made any settlement on the Atlantic coast at this time? 



III. THE MISSIONS OF ALTA 
CALIFORNIA 

CHAPTER X 
THE DESIRE OF A YOUTH 

IN the Mediterranean Sea, not far from the hills of 
Spain, is a small island, called Majorca. On this island, 
in 1 71 3, almost two hundred years ago, was born a baby 
boy, whose life is interesting to all Californians. His 
father and mother called him Michael, but here in the 
New World he is known only as Father Junipero Serra. 1 

The parents of Michael were poor, but good and honest. 
They were very proud of their son, and wanted him to 
become an educated man. In those days it cost a great 
deal of money to send a boy to school, and it was not often 
that poor people could give their children an education ; 
but Michael's parents were determined. They went to the 
priests and asked their help. As these good men knew 
the parents well, they said that the child might stay with 
them and attend their school without pay. They never 
had reason to regret their kindness. 

Michael proved to be a remarkable scholar for those 
days. He was so fond of reading that he was seldom 

l Jun(pero Serra (IIoo ne'pa-ro Sar'ra). 
SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 7 97 



98 



The Missions of Alta California 



***% 



without a book in his hands. In this way he learned 
about some of the great men of the church who had gone 
into distant, foreign lands as missionaries. He pictured 
their sufferings as the cruel savages tortured them and 

put them to death. But he 

thought also of the brighter 

side. He read that some- 

,/"* \ times these missionaries made 

friends of the savages, telling 
them the story of Christ, and 
showing them a better way 
to live than any they had be- 
• fore known. Young Michael 
determined to be a missionary. 
He never gave up this project, 
although it could not be car- 
ried out until long after he had 
become a priest, and had taken 
the name of Father Serra. 

As the years passed, Father 
Serra talked sometimes about 
his plans with two friends 
who loved him dearly. These 
were the priests, Father Crespi and Father Palou, who 
became the devoted companions of his later years. One 
day, when Father Serra was sitting alone in the little cell 
which was the only room he could call his own, Father 
Palou came in. As the two men talked together, Father 
Palou said that he, too, had decided to go as a missionary 
to the Indians of America. Father Serra was delighted. 




The youth of Father Serra 



The Desire of a YoutJi 99 

"Now/ 1 he cried, "we can go. For a long time the 
only obstacle to my going has been the want of a compan- 
ion. Thank God! the obstacle is removed." In a few- 
months the two friends sailed for Mexico, where mission- 
aries were already at work among the Indians. 

When the vessel bearing the two priests reached the 
end of its voyage, it anchored at Vera Cruz, many days' 
journey from the city of Mexico. The passengers ex- 
pected to find there wagons and guides to take them 
across the country, but for some reason none could be 
had. Rather than wait weeks, perhaps, for means of 
transportation, Father Serra decided to walk the hundred 
leagues to Mexico. For a time it seemed as if he must go 
alone, for Father Palou was too ill to accompany him, and 
no one else wanted to attempt such a trip ; but at last one 
man said he was ready to try to walk to the city of Mexico. 

The two started without a guide, intending to beg their 
food on the way, for they could not burden themselves 
with baggage of any kind. Even when they were suffer- 
ing from hunger, and did not know where to sleep for the 
night, Father Serra thought first of others and last of him- 
self. One day, when they had just one loaf of bread, they 
met some poor people who had none, and were starving. 
Seeing that they were worse off than himself, Father 
Serra gave them the loaf and trusted God for another. He 
had not made a mistake; a little farther on they were met 
by a kind-hearted man who gave them something to eat. 

On this journey Father Serra wounded his leg. The 
wound would not heal, and until his death, thirty-five 
years later, he suffered greatly from it. In spite of the 

LofC. 



ioo The Missions of Alta California 

pain thus caused, he walked from Vera Cruz to the city of 
Mexico as quickly as a well man could have gone. 

At last Father Serra was in Mexico, among the Indians 
whom he had longed to teach. Here was the life work 
which he had dreamed of since boyhood. Full of enthusi- 
asm and love he entered upon it, and for eighteen years 
he labored unceasingly among the natives in the provinces 
of New Spain. Then a great change came to his life. 
He was sent to take charge of the missions that were 
to be founded in Alta California. 

Questions. — What part of a missionary's life attracted Father 
Serra as a boy ? What reasons may he have had for walking from 
Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico ? Can you mention five traits of 
character already shown by this great man ? 






CHAPTER XI 

EXPEDITIONS INTO ALTA CALIFORNIA 

It was more than a hundred and fifty years after Vis- 
caino's last voyage, before the Spanish saw fit to learn 
more about the great region which they claimed along 
the Pacific coast. Then the former reasons for colonizing 
that region were urged with even greater force than before. 
Spanish sailors returning from the long voyage across the 
Pacific still suffered and died from scurvy as in the days 
of Viscaino, and there was much danger that foreign 
nations would take possession of the coast. So again the 
thoughts of Spain began to turn toward California. The 
king ordered that an expedition should rediscover the bay 
of Monterey and make there a settlement. 

When the priests of Mexico learned that soldiers were 
to be sent to establish a settlement and military stations 
on the coast, they determined to send some of their 
number with them. With all the zeal of missionaries 
they longed to go to the thousands of Indians in Upper 
California. They wanted to teach the savages a better 
way of living; to cure them of their diseases; to bring 
them into the missions; and to hold the great country 
for the church and for Spain. They urged that it would 
not be difficult to found missions, for animals of all kinds 

IOI 



102 TJie Missions of Alta California 

could be sent from Mexico, and, for a while at least, until 
gardens, orchards, and flocks of animals could be started 
in the new places, supplies could be sent to California by 
ship. 

The king was pleased that the priests should go. He 
knew that if missions were built, and the Indians learned 
to love and obey the priests, it would be easier to hold the 
country in subjection than if an army of soldiers went and 
established military rule. As soon as the priests learned 
the king's decision, they began to ask themselves who was 
to be their leader in the new provinces. It was the gen- 
eral opinion that Father Serra was the best man for the 
position, for he had proved himself one of the strongest 
workers in Mexico. So he was made president of all 
the missions to be built in Alta California, and was put 
in charge of all the work there. The dream of the youth 
at Majorca was coming to a glorious fulfillment. He was 
so happy that he could not work fast enough in collecting 
the supplies that would be necessary in the new country. 

The Spanish governor of Mexico at that time was 
Galvez, 1 a man whose name deserves to be remembered 
in connection with the California missions. He was as 
eager as Father Serra to push forward rapidly their 
founding, and he was always a helpful friend to them 
and to their worthy president. Galvez also knew that 
it would be a grand thing for Spain to hold all the land 
then known as Alta, or Upper, California; and, as other 
nations were trying to get possession of the country, 
Spain must not be slow in carrying out her plans. 
1 Galvez (Gal-veth'). 



Expeditions into Alta California 103 

Galvez decided to send two expeditions, one by land and 
one by water. But as the sea expedition was to go in 
three vessels, and the one by land was divided into two 
companies, he was really fitting out five expeditions. 

There was much to be done, and neither Galvez nor 
Father Serra hesitated to put their hands to the pack- 
ing and other hard work, although one was the governor 
of Mexico, and the other was the president of the missions 
of California. The ships had to be entirely overhauled. 
They had to be repainted and the bottoms covered with 
pitch. Then they had to be loaded. There were guns for 
the forts, tools for working the land, seeds for the gar- 
dens and fields, provisions and fresh water for the voyage, 
bells and ornaments for the churches. There were also 
supplies of food for the soldiers and priests who were 
to stay in California, for it would be many months before 
they could raise enough to feed their whole companv. 
With the land expeditions were to go the cattle, horses, 
sheep, and mules. These were to be collected from the 
missions in Lower California as the expeditions marched 
northward, and were to be driven up the peninsula to 
San Diego, where the first mission was to be founded. 

Father Crespi went with the first land expedition. 
Father Serra was expected to join the second, but he could 
not start with it. lie was worn out with the hard work of 
preparation; the wound in his leg troubled him ; he was too 
ill to travel. The company, therefore, under Gaspar de 
Portoki, the first governor of California, left reluctantly 
without him, planning to move slowly until he could over- 
take them. Father Palou was to remain at one of the 



104 The Missions of Alta California 

missions of Lower California, where he had long lived ; but 
when he learned of Father Serra's illness, he asked to go 
to California in his place. Feeling that he would soon be 
ready to start, Father Serra refused the offer of his friend". 

It was three weeks after the expedition started from 
Loreto before Father Serra was strong enough to mount 
his mule and follow up the peninsula. His way led him 
past the mission where Father Palou labored, and there he 
stopped several days for the rest he so sorely needed. As 
Father Palou looked into the pale face and noticed the 
worn body of his beloved friend, he urged still more vig- 
orously his plan of going himself to California ; he feared 
that, even if Father Serra survived the severe journey to 
San Diego, he could not endure the still more trying labors 
of founding missions. Again the sick man refused, grate- 
fully but firmly. He was ready to die, he said; but he 
could not stay away from California at such a time. 

Father Palou knew that his dear old friend never gave 
up, but he urged him again to stay at least for a time in 
Mexico, where the work would be so much lighter than it 
could possibly be in a new country. He promised to go 
in the place of the president, and to return just so soon as 
Father Serra was well enough to take the work in Cali- 
fornia ; he begged him to remain quiet until he was better 
able to make the trip. But Father Serra had set his heart 
on ringing the bells and laying the foundation of the first 
mission in California, and he shook his head at the sug- 
gestion of Father Palou. 

" Let us speak no more on this subject," said he. " I 
have placed my faith in God and trust in his goodness to 



Expeditions into Alta California 105 

plant the standard of the holy cross not only at San Diego, 
but even as far north as Monterey." 

It was useless to say more. Father Palou knew that 
Father Serra would take no thought for himself. He 
would hurry on after the company ahead of him, forget- 
ting his pain, forgetting his body entirely. Perhaps he 
would overtake Governor Portola ; perhaps his strength 
would give out, and he would die on the way. 

After less than a week with the friend of his boyhood, 
Father Serra said he was ready to start. He was to be 
accompanied by trusty servants, for he was still in such 
great pain from his wounded leg that he could not mount 
his mule alone. There was a tender farewell between the 
two priests, for both felt that this might be their last meet- 
ing on earth. They could not foresee that both were to live 
more than fifteen years longer, and that when death should 
claim Father Serra, Father Palou would be at his bedside. 

The company had stopped to wait for Father Serra, and 
very glad they all were when they saw him come into their 
camp. It had been hard traveling, and he had again 
tried his strength too far. He was so ill that he could not 
sit, nor stand, nor lie down, without the greatest pain. 
His foot was badly swollen. Everybody thought that he 
must soon die, and urged him to stay in Mexico. But the 
resolute priest had gone too far to return. 

" No," said he, firmly. " If I am strong enough to go 
back, I am strong enough to go forward. God has 
brought me thus far, and if it is his will, I shall finally 
reach San Diego." 

Governor Portola then commanded that a litter should 



io6 



The Missions of Alta California 



be made on which the good father could be carried. 
Again came an objection. 

a What am I," said he, " that I should be carried by my 
fellow-men ? Some other way will come to me." 

" My son," he asked, turning to one of the mule drivers, 
"can you find some remedy for my sore foot ? " 




' What am I that I should be carried by my fellow-men ? ' 



The driver hesitated. He was only an ignorant man, 
the driver of mules. It was Father Serra, the president of 
all the missions of Upper California, who was asking him 
for help. He was afraid to use his simple medicines on 
so great a man. 

"What remedy have I, Father, for men ?" he asked at 
length. " I am not a surgeon, only a mule driver, and I 
can cure only my beasts." 



Expeditions into Alta California 107 

"Well, son," said the priest, kindly, "imagine that I am 
one of the animals, and that this is one of their wounds." 
Here he pointed to his swollen and painful leg. " Now 
apply the same remedy." 

The mule driver smiled, touched by the suffering and 
the gentleness of the priest. 

" I will dp so, Father, to please you," said he. 

He took some suet, mixed it with herbs, made of it a 
kind of plaster, and applied it to the sore. The result was 
surprising to every one. In the morning Father Serra 
awoke so much better that the journey was resumed. 

The expedition moved slowly. There were no roads, 
and often the way had to be cleared of stones and cac- 
tus plants. There were the animals to drive, and pastur- 
age and water were scarce. Some of the Indians became 
sick, some deserted, and some died. Everybody suffered 
in crossing the sandy, rocky, cactus-grown stretches of 
country. At last, on the first of July, three months after 
Father Serra had left Loreto, the weary company saw a 
sight that made them happy. Down below them, glisten- 
ing in the sunshine, lay a beautiful land-locked bay. At 
that distance its calm waters seemed without a ripple. 
Outside the narrow peninsula that stretched its long arm 
between the bay and the sea was the blue ocean, its sur- 
face fretted only by an occasional whitecap. Still farther 
across the ocean toward the west, almost on the horizon 
line, rose the Coronado Islands. 

The tired men gave a cry of delight as they recognized 
San Diego Hay; and as the slowly moving train hurried 
its pace at the sight, the soldiers fired off their muskets. 



108 The Missions of Alt a California 

For a few moments every one listened in silence. Then 
came answering shots from the tents on the shore, and in 
a few seconds still others from the two ships riding at 
anchor on the bay. Volley after volley followed, as the 
company rushed on to meet waiting friends. Four of the 
five expeditions were reunited, and the men laughed, 
talked, and embraced each other in their joy that so many 
were at last safe in the new land. Their happiness, how- 
ever, was tempered by anxiety ; the third ship, long over- 
due, had not yet arrived. It was well that they did not 
then know that she had gone down somewhere in the 
ocean and that every one on board had perished. 

Questions. — Why did the priests desire to go to California? Why 
did they ask the king for permission ? Why was the king eager that 
they should go? Who else went to hold the land for the king? Why 
was it necessary to take such abundant supplies ? 

Why was Father Serra so determined not to stay in Mexico? What 
kept him from giving up under difficulties? 



CHAPTER XII 

FOUNDING OF SAN DIEGO MISSION 
July 1 6, 1769 

The expedition by sea suffered greatly. There were so 
many deaths on the voyage that there were not enough 
sailors left to man the two vessels that sailed into San 
Diego harbor just before the coming of the land party. 
The third ship had not yet arrived ; and, as food soon 
began to be short, the San Antonio was sent back to 
Mexico for more supplies and for sailors to take the place 
of those who had died. Then Father Serra and Governor 
Portola turned their attention to the real purpose of their 
trip, — the rediscovery of Monterey and the making of a 
settlement on the shores of its bay. 

The expedition was to have been made by boat ; but as 
the San Antonio had returned to Mexico, and it was not 
thought wise for the other vessel, the San Carlos, to leave 
San Diego, there was no other way but to march by land 
up the coast. Accordingly, the necessary baggage was 
loaded on mules, and the expedition, under the charge of 
Governor Portola and accompanied by Father Crespi, 
started for Monterey. 

Preparations were begun almost immediately for the \ 
founding of the mission at San Diego. It was the middle 

109 



no The Missions of Alta California 

of July. Father Serra looked around on his small com- 
pany. Of the forty people remaining with him, eleven 
were Lower California Indians, who had been brought as 
servants ; several were soldiers, sick, and in the pesthouse 
which had been built for them. In the valleys and foot- 
hills, were the savage Indians whom he had come to 
convert. 

In spite of all discouragements and dangers, Father 
Serra's heart beat with joy. The letter which he wrote 
to Father Palou in Lower California expressed his delight 
with San Diego. He wrote of the valleys with their 
many trees, the wild grapevines, and the roses, " as sweet 
and fair as those of Castile." To the good father who had 
just come from the barren lower peninsula, and whose 
heart was full of glowing anticipations, everything seemed 
beautiful and promising. 

Father Serra determined to start his mission immedi- 
ately. It would have taken a long while to build a 
church, but one was not necessary for a beginning. July 
1 6, 1769, the bells were swung in a tree, and a great 
wooden cross was raised. Around it were grouped the 
men of the little settlement ; in the background, watching 
everything, were the Indians. Their dusky, stolid faces 
probably expressed little of the interest, surprise, and 
curiosity which they must have felt. 

Father Serra raised his hands toward the blue heav- 
ens, and with that earnest voice of his spoke. He asked 
God to bless the rude cross which had just been raised; 
to bless the mission soon to be built. He prayed for help 
to put to flight all the hosts of evil in the barbarous land, 



Founding of San Diego Mission 



III 




The first service at San Diego 



and to bring into the church the Indians, still strangers to 
Christ. How solemn they all were. How Father Serra's 
heart swelled with hope and piety. How curious the 
Indians must have been as they lurked in the distance, 
watching this invasion of their home. 

Then the hard work began. A number of huts were 
built. One of them was to be used as a church, the rest 
were to be lived in until better buildings could be pro- 
vided. Weeks passed in this task, and the mission still 
lacked one thing, the most necessary of all. There were 
no converts. In Mexico and in the other missions 
founded later in California, Indians soon came into the 
mission life, but in San Diego many months passed before 
a single scholar was enrolled. 

Although the curious, greedy natives would not live 



112 The Missions of Alta California 

at the mission, they visited it in large numbers, eager for 
the presents which the Spaniards gave them as long as 
they had anything to give away. They liked the beads 
and ornaments; they were always begging for cloth and 
pieces of rope, but they would not eat the white man's 
food. They knew that many sailors had died, and per- 
haps they thought that what they ate was poisonous. For 
many months they would not swallow anything given 
them by the Spaniards. Even if a lump of sugar were 
put into the mouth of a child, he was made to spit it out 
It was really fortunate that the Indians did refuse food, 
for provisions were becoming scarce. It was the long, 
dry summer season, when but few things grow in San 
Diego, and although the weeks stretched out into months, 
the ship San Antonio did not return with the expected 
supplies from Mexico. 

The liking of the Indians for cloth and rope caused 
annoyance and even trouble. When the Spaniards had 
no more to give away, the savages eagerly watched their 
chance and stole anything of the kind they could lay their 
hands on. They even tried to steal from the San Carlos, 
which was still lying in the harbor. On their rude tule 
rafts they went up to the ship, so huge and strange in 
their eyes ; they clambered up its sides, and started to 
carry off the ropes and to cut out large pieces of the sails. 
At last, to keep the ship from being carried off piecemeal, 
two of the eight sailors who were still alive had to sleep 
on board as a guard. 

So bold had the Indians become that they laughed at 
the 1 threats and promises of the Spaniards. At first the 



Founding of San Diego Mission 1 1 3 

report of the firearms had frightened them into running 
away ; but Father Serra had said that the sailors were 
not to kill any Indian, and as the noise of the discharge 
did no harm, the savages laughed at it and were amused. 
Matters went from bad to worse. Knowing how many 
white people had died, and how few were left, the Indians 
lost all fear of either their number or their power. 

Angry that so few presents were given them, and no 
longer afraid of the Spanish guns, the Indians planned 
to attack the white men. August 15, 1769, the Indians, 
seeing that some of the men were away on the San Carlos, 
armed themselves with war clubs and bows and arrows 
and broke into the mission. Their first act was to tear 
the sheets off the beds in the hospital, where four soldiers 
were lying sick. These men, weak as they were, threw on 
their armor, seized their guns, and hurried to the defense 
of the little village. The blacksmith and the carpenter had 
no armor, but they, too, rushed out against the Indians, 
the former crying as he ran, " Long life to the faith of 
Jesus Christ, and death to the dogs, its enemies ! " 

Father Serra and a second priest, Father Viscaino, re- 
mained in the hut used as a chapel. As they were priests 
they did not fight, but spent their time in praying for the 
safety of their friends and defenders. Father Viscaino 
grew anxious about the battle raging outside, and no 
wonder. At last, in his curiosity and fear, he could wait 
no longer to know how matters stood. Cautiously he 
raised the mat which did service for a door, and peered 
out. Quick as a thought, as if an Indian had been wait- 
ing for this very chance, an arrow flew toward him. It 

\\. IN SOI l KWEST — 8 



114 The Missions of Alta California 

struck his hand, making an ugly although not a dangerous 
wound. Dropping the mat door more quickly than he 
had raised it, the father went back to his prayers, and 
gave no more attention to the fighting outside. 

Meanwhile, the four soldiers, the carpenter, the black- 
smith, and two or three Indians from Lower California 
were defending the place desperately. At first the arrows 
of the Indians did little damage. Then one of the ser- 
vants was shot, and rushed into the hut, to die at Father 
Serra's feet. The blacksmith and one of the soldiers 
were wounded ; the priest's hand pained him seriously. 
But at last the Spanish firearms conquered. The Indians 
ran away, carrying their dead and wounded, and in a few 
moments all had disappeared. 

It is interesting to learn what became of the wounded 
among the Indians. A few days after the attack they 
were brought to the mission to have their wounds treated. 
The savages had already learned that the fathers were 
kind and forgiving. A good beginning had been made 
for the great work that was to follow. 

Not long after the attack on the mission Father Serra 
again had hopes of converts. He had been wanting to 
keep some of the Indian children at the mission, for he 
knew that they would learn faster than the older people, 
and would like better to stay with the white men. One 
Indian boy had been persuaded to remain with the 
Spaniards. He had been interested in watching their 
ways, and he had learned a little of the Spanish language. 
He could tell the suspicious natives what the fathers 
meant when they tried to talk to their savage visitors. 



Founding of San Diego Mission 



115 



He explained to the Indians that Father Serra wanted a 
baby boy to keep at the mission. As he grew up he 
should be dressed like the white people, who would think 
of him as their brother ; he should be taught the wisdom 
of the Spaniards, and be made a Christian. The Indians 
talked about it among themselves, and finally decided that 
the priest should have his wish. 

One day an Indian came to the mission carrying a little 
boy. It was a strange sight, for the women always car- 
ried the babies, but this Indian was looking very serious. 
He was bringing the child as a present for Father Serra. 




" He seized the child, and ran from the mission " 



All around him were crowds of his companions. They 
were very quiet, and did not beg nor steal, as was their 
custom. 

Father Serra was happier than he had been before in 



n6 The Missions of Alta California 

San Diego. He looked around to see what he could do to 
show the Indians how glad he was. He knew what they 
liked, and therefore brought out a piece of bright-colored 
cloth, and threw it over the baby. Everything went well. 
All the Spaniards were grouped around to see the first 
baptism in Upper California. Father Serra stood clasping 
the shell in which was the holy water. His hand was 
raised for the ceremony. Suddenly an Indian, frightened 
by the solemn stillness and the strange ceremonies, sprang 
forward. He seized the child, still wrapped in the beauti- 
ful cloth, and ran from the mission. Away went all the 
other Indians, leaving Father Serra and his companions 
dumb with horror and amazement. 

The soldiers were very angry, and wanted to start off 
hotly after the Indians and punish them without delay. 
Such a deed was an insult to the good father and to the 
church. Father Serra would not listen to their sugges- 
tions. He had common sense and prudence. He knew 
that to punish the savages would be to drive them away 
from the settlement and make enemies of them. He 
knew that he must be patient if he would bring them into 
the mission as friends. Besides, he realized that the 
Indians were afraid of magic, and he understood that to 
them the ceremonies and the water for baptism might 
have seemed like an evil charm about to be cast over the 
baby. 

So Father Serra told the soldiers that they must not 
follow the Indians, but must wait until their savage neigh- 
bors could be won by kindness and their friendship se- 
cured. Very unwillingly they obeyed. The good priest 



Founding of San Diego Mission 1 1 7 

himself was so disappointed that the tears came into his 
eyes. Like the unselfish man that he was, he took the 
blame on himself. 

"It is all because of my sins," said he; "if I were a 
better man, this would not have happened." 

He still worked on, and waited for his Indian converts. 

Questions. — What two reasons which probably would not exist 
to-day may be given for the sufferings on the trip by sea ? Why was 
founding Monterey the important object of the expedition ? Why 
should Father Serra have stayed in San Diego ? 

How could the priests induce the Indians to visit the mission ? 
What unfortunate result followed ? Why did not Father Serra wish 
the soldiers to fire on the Indians ? What was gained with the Indians 
by a peaceful policy ? When was this result shown ? Was it the first 
result ? 

What part of the Indian nature is seen in the carrying off of the child 
that was about to be baptized ? What traits of Father Serra's charac- 
ter were shown during those trying days ? 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE SEARCH FOR MONTEREY BAY 

When Governor Portola and Father Crespi started from 
San Diego to find Monterey Bay, they had in mind the 
description of that place written a century and a half 
before by Viscaino for the king of Spain. Viscaino had 
seen the bay in December and in the early part of Janu- 
ary. The rains had washed from the trees their summer 
coats of dust, leaving them beautiful in their spring foli- 
age. The hillsides were green with grass and bright with 
vast stretches of brilliant flowers. A clear 'river flowed to 
the sea, and streams of fresh water were found along the 
shore. But the early California spring, during which Vis- 
caino had seen Monterey, was a season still unknown to 
the two explorers of 1 769. Accustomed to the barrenness 
of Lower California, they saw, it is true, many of the 
beauties of the new country ; but it was October, and they 
could not imagine the transformation which the autumn 
rains would cause. Consequently they made a strange 
mistake. They went directly to Monterey Bay, but they 
did not recognize it as the place for which they were 
looking. 

The long, dry California summer had scorched the grass 
and bright flowers of which Viscaino had written. The 

118 



The Search f oi' Monterey Bay 119 

hills were yellow and barren. The river, instead of hav- 
ing an abundant supply of water, had shrunk to a tiny 
stream which the mission animals could drink dry. There 
was sand everywhere : long, seemingly endless dunes of 
it fronted the sea, and dreary reaches of its gray and 
whitish grains lay in the valleys between the yellow, 
rolling hills. To the weary Spaniards the region seemed 
like a desert, instead of the fertile country which they had 
expected and longed to find. 

Moreover the harbor itself baffled them. Viscaino, sail- 
ing into it from a stormy ocean, had recognized in its 
quieter waters a harbor of safety. Portola and Crespi, 
viewing it from the land, and comparing it perhaps with 
the landlocked bay of San Diego just left behind them, 
could hardly see a bay in the open expanse of water 
between the southern coast on which they stood and 
the distant headland far to the north. They could not 
imagine that the description left by Viscaino fitted at all 
the scene before their eyes. 

They talked the matter over again and again. Some of 
the men thought this must be Monterey ; others were sure 
it could not be ; Portola and Father Crespi were among 
the latter. The men hunted for some of the signs given 
in the old description, but could not find any that satisfied 
them. They thought that the bay must either lie still 
farther to the north, or that it had been filled up with sand 
during the long years which had passed since the visit of 
Viscaino. Governor Portoli became convinced that the 
whole expedition must be given up since Monterey Bay 
could not be found. Father Crespi was too disappointed 



120 The Missions of Alt a California 

for words. He thought that Point Pinos looked like the 
headland mentioned by the earlier explorers, but even he 
did not believe that the right place had been found. 

Before returning south it was decided to continue the 
search a little farther up the coast. The march was con- 
tinued, and San Francisco Bay was really visited ; but, not 
dreaming of the importance of their discovery, the Span- 
iards turned back to the smaller harbor which they could 
not believe was Monterey. At last, tired and discouraged, 
and nearly out of food supplies, they gave up their efforts, 
and started slowly back toward San Diego. Food was 
so scarce that they might have perished on the way had 
not the Indians proved friendly and furnished them with 
seeds, acorns, nuts, even wild fowl and fish. A little more 
than six months after starting on the northern journey 
the expedition came within sight of the low palisade which 
protected the camp and mission of San Diego. 

In spite of the pleasure of the reunion, how sad must 
have been the day of the arrival. Neither party had good 
news. Father Serra could tell only of sickness, of the 
trouble with the Indians, and of the difficulty in getting 
converts. He himself was sick with scurvy. Father 
Crespi told of the long and fruitless march to the north. 
He said it was his belief that Monterey Bay no longer ex- 
isted. He told of Governor Portola's determination to 
waste no more lives in trying to settle California. 

Father Serra listened in dismay. He heard Father 
Crespi and the soldiers talk of the bay which they had 
found ; of the point covered with pines, projecting out 
into the ocean ; of the creek, almost dry in its sandy 



The Search for Monterey Bay 121 

bed. He felt sure that this was Viscaino's bay of Monte- 
rey, and Captain Vila of the San Carlos thought so too. 
Father Crespi and Portola said that it could not be or 
they should have recognized it. 

Portola's discouragement grew upon him. The San 
Antonio had not yet returned from Mexico with the sup- 
plies which were to keep the company from starving ; and 
now that the two parties were together, food disappeared 
with alarming rapidity in San Diego. He feared that 
starvation was close before them. Finally, he declared 
that if the San Antonio did not come by the 20th of 
March, he would abandon California and return to Mexico. 

Fathers Serra and Crespi listened in despair. Give up 
the work which they had begun ! Forget the hard marches 
and the sufferings ! Lose the results of what they had 
already done ! Abandon the few Indians who were begin- 
ning to look with friendly eyes on the priests ! They 
could not. They planned to stay if every one else went 
away. They talked with Captain Vila of the San Carlos 
until he promised that, if the others went, he would take 
the two priests on his vessel and make another search for 
Monterey. 

Will the San Antonio come ? Will she come in time ? 
These thoughts never left the minds of the two priests. 
The 19th of March came, and no vessel. Then the two 
fathers prayed for the coming of the ship. They wan- 
dered out on the hills overlooking the ocean. They 
watched every part of the horizon line. Hours passed. 
Afternoon came, and still no ship. The sun was sinking 
slowly into the sea. The two friends were watching it dis- 



122 The Missions of Alta California 

appear, when suddenly they saw a sight which brought 
back life and joy to each heart. There on the horizon, 
far away in the distance, was a sail. It must be the San 
Antonio, they said to each other ; and so it proved to be. 

When the ship finally came to anchor in the harbor, it 
was found that she brought not only food and new sup- 
plies of all kinds, but also a command for Portola, that 
he should make all haste in founding settlements to hold 
California for Spain. All thought of deserting the mis- 
sion was swept from the mind of the governor. Even 
Father Serra was not more eager than he to start north 
again in the search for the bay that the first expedition 
had failed to find. 

Again an exploring party went north. Father Serra 
sailed on the vessel, and who could be discouraged when 
he was near ? There was no doubt this time about the 
bay. It was spring, and there were the green hills, the 
pine trees, the rippling river, the deep pools of clear 
water, mentioned in the earlier description. Like Vis- 
caino, Father Serra sailed into the harbor, and he recog- 
nized the outline more easily than could those on shore. 
The men hunted along the beach, and Father Serra was 
sure that he found the very tree described by Viscaino. 
He could not be mistaken. It was a large oak whose 
wide-flung branches hung down over the water ; and when 
the tide came creeping in, the waves just swayed the ends 
of its sweeping branches. So convinced was Father Serra 
that this was the very place where mass had been said in 
1602, that he, also, held service there. 

The 3d of June, 1770, almost a year after the founding 






The SearcJi for Monterey Bay 



123 




^<S 



■^UXE3dl770. 



of San Diego mission, was the day fixed for the beginning 
of the new mission of Monterey. Everybody was happy. 
No one could work fast enough. Preparations were 
quickly made. Branches were stretched as a shelter until 
a hut could be built, 
and later the church. 
The bells were hung in 
the trees and joyously 
rung. A cross was 
planted. The cannon 
and the muskets were 
fired. Hymns were 
sung. In his long 
priest's robes Father 
Serra blessed the found- 
ing of this new mis- 
sion. In the joy of his 
heart, his face radiant 
with happiness, he for- 
got all the sufferings 
and discouragements of 
the past months. 

Governor Portola was almost as delighted as Father 
Serra. When the church services were over, he called 
out the soldiers, and made ready to take civil and military 
possession of the land. The royal flag was planted ; the 
sea breeze swept out its folds, and as it floated over him, 
Portola called in a loud voice that all this country belonged 
now and always to Spain. Then the soldiers pulled grass, 
and picked up stones, and threw them. This was their 




Cross at Monterey 



124 The Missions of Alta California 

odd way, centuries old, of saying that everything which 
grew and all that was on the land belonged to Spain. 

All that had been done for the church and the king was 
carefully written down on parchment. The news that 
Monterey had been found and a settlement started must 
be sent to Mexico, to be forwarded from there to Spain. 
Who would be the messengers? 

On a day of such excitement the question was hardly 
necessary. Two men, a soldier and a sailor, sprang for- 
ward, ready to start on the long, dangerous journey. A 
few days later they set out to carry the good news to Gal- 
vez in the city of Mexico. 

Questions. — What two reasons may be given for the failure to 
recognize Monterey Bay ? Can any reason be given for the failure of 
the leaders to see the importance of San Francisco Bay ? Why did the 
trip north and the return take so much time? What risks would Gov- 
ernor Portola have taken by remaining at San Diego if the San Antonio 
had not returned? What two reasons may be given why Monterey 
was easily recognized on the second trip ? 



CHAPTER XIV . 
THE LAST DAYS OF FATHER SERRA 

Father Serra was 
never idle. He taught 
the Indians who came 
to the mission to live ; 
he helped in any of the 
work about the build- 
ings ; he planned new 
missions and founded 
them ; he was con- 
stantly officiating at the 
services of the church, 
preaching, celebrating 
mass, baptizing, con- 
firming. As his duties 
called him, he went from 
mission to mission, and 
once even to Mexico. 
It was slow and tedious 
traveling in those days, 
especially for one who, 

like Father Serra, was far from strong. More than once 
as he left a mission, its inhabitants felt that they had seen 




Scene in Southern California 



126 The Missions of Alta California 

him for the last time ; but his will and love for the work 
kept up his strength. 

With occasional absences, Father Crespi remained at 
Monterey until his death, and as he watched his friend 
and superior he realized that he was working far beyond 
his powers of endurance. He sometimes said so, but 
Father Serra always smiled and shook his head. 

" I have come to California to save souls," would be his 
answer, as he kept on working. 

One of his plans was to build a line of missions from 
San Diego to Monterey, and to prolong it, if possible, to 
San Francisco Bay. The missions were to be near enough 
together to serve as shelters on the long journey from one 
of these places to the other. He listened eagerly whenever 
priests, soldiers, or Indians told about beautiful valleys 
with fine trees, running water, and fertile soil. He always 
inquired if many Indians were near, for it would be useless 
to establish a mission where there would be no converts. 

Fifteen years Father Serra labored in California. Dur- 
ing that time he and the priests who were with him or 
who came to him from Mexico, founded nine missions. 
These were, besides San Diego and Monterey, San An- 
tonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Juan Capistrano, 
San Francisco Dolores, Santa Clara, and San Buenaven- 
tura; some of which were later among the strongest and 
wealthiest of all the missions in California. He baptized 
and confirmed nearly six thousand people, the greater 
number of whom were Indians. 

But Father Serra's life was nearly spent. The old 
wound on his leg still caused him most acute suffering ; 



The Last Days of Father Serra 127 

he had worn himself out, not only by the hard journeys 
which he had frequently taken, but also by the severity of 
his religious life. Although Father Serra lived in the 
eighteenth century, in spirit he was a monk of the Middle 
Ages ; like them he believed in punishing the body that 
he might make better his heart. He often scourged him- 
self with a chain, baring his shoulders to the heavy blows ; 
he held aloft heavy weights, at times with both hands at 
once; he burnt his breast by holding to it lighted tapers, 
doing this so often that the flesh did not heal over, and 
thereby bringing on himself one of the causes of his death. 
Such treatment was enough to kill a body already weak- 
ened by disease and overwork. We of to-day may not 
believe in such torments, but certain it is that if more men 
had the determination of purpose, the unselfishness of 
deed, and the purity of life shown by Father Serra, the 
world would be a better place to live in. 

As the end drew near, in August, 1784, the good father 
longed to see his dearest friends. He wrote many fare- 
well letters ; one of them was to Father Palou, who for 
some years had been in Alta California, and who was at that 
time at the mission of San Francisco Dolores. No sooner 
did he receive the dying message of his beloved friend 
and leader than he hurried to Monterey. On his arrival 
he found Father Serra very weak. He was lying in his 
little room, or cell. He was suffering dreadfully, but he 
was cheerful. He had never complained while living ; he 
would not complain now that he was dying. 

The day before his death he wanted to go to church 
once more, and no one could persuade him to remain on 



128 The Missions of Alta California 

his bed. The mission church was only a few steps away, 
and with the help of some of those who loved him he 
dragged himself slowly to it. There he knelt and prayed 
for a long time, watched with tears by all the Spaniards in 
the settlement and by the Indians who loved him like a 
father. 

After mass had been said, Father Serra was assisted 
back to his little cell. He could neither rest nor sleep. 
He could not lie down, but there were loving arms to hold 
him. The Indians begged for the privilege of support- 
ing his wasted form. Rousing a little, the sick man 
turned to Father Palou, who never quitted his bedside. 

" Bury me by the side of Father Crespi," he whispered. 

Father Palou could scarcely speak for his tears ; but he 
assured him it should be as he desired. 

A few hours passed slowly to the watchers who were 
holding the dying man in their arms. At last Father 
Serra asked them feebly to lay him on his bed to rest. 
Gently they did so. Whispering to each other that he 
wished to sleep, they crept softly away. 

Father Palou could not stay long. Coming quietly 
back, he pushed open the door of the cell. Father Serra 
lay stretched on his bed just as they had left him. He 
was indeed at rest in the sleep which knows no earthly 
awakening. 

Questions. — What conditions prevented Father Serra from found- 
ing missions more rapidly? Why was he so beloved by the Spaniards? 
by the Indians? What are some of the influences which must have 
passed from his life into the mission system ? 



CHAPTER XV 

LIFE AT THE MISSIONS 

There had been two reasons for establishing missions 
in Alta California. One was to convert the Indians; the 
other was to hold for the church and for the king of Spain 
all the coast from San Diego to Monterey. Nineteen mis- 




The Mission of San Diego 

sions were soon flourishing near the ocean or a little inland ; 
the most northern, on the bay of San Francisco, the most 
southern, on that of San Diego, the two best harbors 
in California. Later two other missions were founded 
north of San Francisco, but as they were to offset the 

SPAN. IN SOUTHWEST — 9 1 29 



130 The Missions of Alt a California 

j> 
growing power of Russia, they belonged to an entirely 

different spirit from the one which gave rise to the insti- 
tutions farther south. 

The supplies from San Diego and Monterey were brought 
directly from Mexico by sea and by land; but whenever a 
new mission was founded, food, tools, and church articles 
were taken to the place from an older settlement by pack 
trains of mules. The planting of any one mission was 
very like that of all the others. A fertile spot was chosen 
not far from the. ocean and near the trail from Monterey 
to San Diego. Usually it was also a beautiful place ; for 
when the fathers located the mission they seem to have 
had an appreciative eye for fine scenery. Perhaps, 
as at San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Monterey, the mis- 
sion looked out on one hand over the ocean, and on the 
other over the rolling hills and fertile valleys where, in a 
few years, the fathers pastured their flocks ; perhaps, as 
at San Gabriel, San Luis Rey, and San Fernando, the 
hills cut off all the outlook to the ocean, and the eyes 
rested on the beautiful country soon claimed by the 
mission as its own. 

When the place had been selected, the bells were swung 
in some convenient trees ; a wooden cross was fastened 
together and elevated ; an altar was built of brushwood, 
and a hut of the same to serve as a chapel until a church 
could be built. The priests in their long robes pronounced 
mass, the first service at the new mission ; some one struck 
the bells ; hymns were sung ; for want of better music the 
soldiers fired off their guns, and if the ships were near, the 
cannon added their deeper tones to the music of the hour. 



Life at the Missions 



I3i 




Sometimes, as at Monterey, -the day was concluded with a 
feast. The next morning saw the beginning of the harder 
work of the founding. 

At San Antonio, the first mission established after 
Monterey, Father Serra was so eager and excited that he 
could scarcely wait until 
the bells were unpacked 
and hung in a tree. 
Then he began to strike 
them with all his might, 
shouting out, " Come, 
O ye, gentiles ; come to 
the Holy Church ; come 
to the faith of Jesus 
Christ ! " The priest 
who was with him 

looked on in amazement, for there were no Indians within 
hearing ; but Father Serra kept on until he was tired. 
Then, turning to his companion, he said that he wished 
all the " gentiles," as the priests called the savage Indians, 
could hear him and be brought into the church. He had 
the same interest and delight in all the nine missions 
founded before his death. 

From the first day the priests planned how to get Indians 
to live at the missions. Often the savages knew nothing 
about the coming of the white men until the ringing of 
bells and the firing of guns went echoing across the plains 
and mountains. Startled by these new sounds, the natives 
ran curiously forward to learn what was happening. The 
guns might frighten them away, but peals from the bells, 



El Carmelo. near Monterey 



132 



The Missions of Alta California 



music of the voices joined in singing hymns, and the sight 
of fine robes worn by the priests during the services, were 
almost sure to bring them back in open-eyed surprise and 
admiration. When they had gazed and listened until the 
first curiosity was satisfied, the priests tried other means 
of keeping them or of inducing them to come again. Such 
presents as Indians like were given them ; food, too, if any 
could be spared from the mission stores. Pleased by this 




Mission of San Juan Capistrano 

treatment, some stayed at the mission, and those who went 
away were sure to come again, bringing others with them 
for a share in the white man's pleasures. Lazy and always 
hungry, the Indians were glad to stay at the missions where 
food and clothing were given them. So the numbers grew; 
sometimes slowly as at San Diego, sometimes rapidly as 
at San Luis Rey. 

When the Indians were once settled in their new life, 



Life at the Missions 133 

the fathers began to teach them some of the doctrines of 
the church and how to work. They first went slowly, for 
neither party had yet learned the other's language ; but the 
results of their work soon began to show around the mis- 
sions. The simple, stupid, but usually good-natured natives 
took kindly to their surroundings. They were more will- 
ing to work for others than for themselves, and they had 
such awe and respect for the fathers that they were 
usually obedient. 

New mission buildings were soon begun. The brush 
hut that had at first done duty for a church must be 
replaced by something far better. Many of the fathers 
had lived in Europe, where they had seen beautiful cathe- 
drals, and they wanted fine churches in California for 
themselves and the Indians. Warm, dry houses to live in 
must be built before the coming of the winter rains, and 
the Indians who came to the missions must be sheltered, 
even if only in their own kind of huts. 

At no two missions were the buildings arranged just 
alike, but some parts in all of them were nearly the same. 
There was a great open square, the courtyard, around 
which were grouped the church, the residences of the 
priests, the rooms for the three or four soldiers who acted 
as guards, the workshops, and granaries. One or two large 
doorways opened into the interior of this court. If build- 
ings did not extend around the whole of it, a high adobe 
wall finished out the square to serve as a protection in case 
of attack from Indians. At some of the missions, in 
the center of the courtyard was a fountain. The church, 
towering above all the other buildings, was on one corner. 



134 TJie Missions of Alta California 

Next to it were the rooms of the priests, at some missions 
small as cells, at others large and comfortable. These 
rooms, like the church, opened outside the court as well as 
inside ; the former were fronted by a corridor, often very 
picturesque with its pillars and arches. The other build- 
ings opened into the court. The dining room was next to 
the fathers' rooms. At San Carlos this was twenty by forty 
feet in size ; the windows were grated and had heavy inside 
wooden shutters. Adjoining it was the kitchen with its 
big fireplace and chimney. Near by were the apartments 
for visitors. On the other side of the court were various 
shops. There was the place for the weavers where the 
looms were put up ; shops for the carpenter, the black- 
smith, the saddlers, the hatters ; granaries ; vats for tallow. 
Not far away were buildings for melting tallow, making 
soap, and, at some of the missions, for storing salt, butter, 
wool, and hides. At a little distance were the Indian 
quarters, a village of rudely made huts. 

Adobe was the principal material used for building, 
although stone was used wherever it was abundant. Bricks 
could be made from the adobe clay, but as the priests knew 
little about its use, there were many efforts before they 
succeeded in forming those flat, heavy bricks, so familiar 
to all visitors at the mission ruins to-day. These bricks 
were only sun-baked, so they had to be made into walls 
several feet thick, and covered with a cement to keep them 
from softening in the rains. 

Making the roofs gave the most trouble. At first they 
were covered with brush, straw, or reeds ; but these would 
not keep out the rains, and after drying thoroughly, they 



Life at the Missions 135 

caught fire easily. Some of the missions had serious 
losses from the roofs burning, either by accident or from 
being set on fire by blazing arrows of hostile Indians. Adobe 
bricks were tried, but they were too heavy ; or in some 
cases, when the heavy winter rains came, they washed 
back again into mud. A priest at San Luis Obispo 
determined that he would make roof tiles like those used 
in Europe. He did not know just how to go to work, and 
there was no one to teach him, but he tried again and 
again until he succeeded in making and burning tiles that 
answered his purpose. They were just what the rest of 
the missionaries wanted, and it was not long before they 
were in use at all of the settlements in Alta California. 

These tiles were so heavy that strong rafters were 
needed for their support. At some of the missions it 
was easy to get large enough timbers, but at others 
there was not a good-sized tree for miles in every direc- 
tion. There were plenty in the mountains, but the 
difficulty was in bringing them down. It was decided 
to set the Indians at this work, severe as it was. Some 
of the soldiers went into the mountains with a gang of 
neophytes, as the mission Indians were called. They 
showed the laborers how to cut and haul the trees, and 
made them work if they showed signs of stopping. Tall 
trees were brought back, but how we do not know. The 
timbers are in the mission roofs to-day, and the Indians 
brought them. But whp can tell how hard they worked? 
Who knows whether they were patient beasts of burden 
for the Spaniards, or whether bitterness and hatred swelled 
in the hearts of these once free men? As they pulled and 



136 The Missions of Alta California 

hauled those tree trunks sixty and seventy miles, did they 
begin to ask themselves who had made the white men 
their masters ? 

When the trees were at the mission, another difficulty 
presented itself. There were no nails. But the Spaniards 
were equal to this also. After the rafters were brought 
into place, crosspieces were laid on them close together. 
These were bound fast to the heavy timbers by means of 
long strips of freshly cut rawhide, which shrank as it 
dried until the woodwork was held as tight as if fas- 
tened with nails. The roof was then ready for the tiles. 
These were the shape of a cylinder cut in half lengthwise. 
One layer was put on the crosspieces with the curved 
side down ; a top layer was added with its curved side 
up and its edges in the troughs of the lower layers. At 
some of the best preserved missions there are still to be 
seen timbers bound together with the rawhide fastened 
around them more than a hundred years ago, and rem- 
nants of the tile roofs remain where they were placed 
or near the dilapidated walls. 

The church was always the pride of the priests who 
planned it, and often of the neophytes whose hands 
helped build it. Those of San Luis Rey and San Juan 
Capistrano were the finest in all Upper California. The 
latter was destroyed by the severe earthquake of December, 
1812, but the remains of the former are still to be seen. 
The church of Santa Barbara is of stone ; it is a hundred 
and sixty feet long by sixty feet wide. It is still in use 
and is in good repair. The church had usually one or two 
towers in which hung the bells, the delight of the Indians 



Life at tJie Missions 



137 



as well as of the fathers. The interiors were made as 
beautiful as possible. Pictures and statues were brought 
from Mexico and even from Spain with the greatest 
care ; gold or silver plate was used. In decorating the 
church the fathers had to remember that they were living 




A portion of San Juan Capistrano restored 



with savages whose eyes were pleased with bright-colored 
hangings and shining plate, and the good priests tried to 
please the tastes of the Indians; but for churches in the 
wilderness, so many weeks' travel from civilization, it is 
a wonder that they were so well made and decorated. 

The little village of Indian huts contrasted strangely 
with the adobe walls and buildings of the Spaniards. In 
the early days of mission life the huts were made of 
tules, or of poles tied together at the top and covered 
with grass or reeds ; or they were made in any way to 



138 The Missions of Alta California 

which the Indians were accustomed. As more savages 
came, the village was made larger until at some of the 
missions it numbered several hundred huts. These were 
for the families only ; there was always a hall or dormitory 
for the youths and another for the girls. At San Carlos, 
as late as 1786, the Indians still lived in their wretched 
huts, but often the fathers rebuilt the Indian quarters 
as soon as the more important structures were finished. 
This was done at San Luis Rey ; and at Santa Barbara 
the Indian village was inclosed by an adobe wall, so that 
it was as well protected as the rest of the buildings. 

Near the low, irregular mission buildings were the 
orchards and kitchen gardens ; a little farther away were 
the fields of grain, and then the pastures for the herds 
began. As soon as there were Indians enough to do the 
work, the garden and orchards were often inclosed by an 
adobe wall or a hedge of prickly-pear cactus. The fields 
swept over the plains, rich valleys, and foothills, w 7 herever 
there were fertile places. The land claimed by any one 
mission might be thirty or forty square miles, and when 
all the nineteen missions had been founded from San 
Diego to San Francisco, the claim was sometimes made 
that the land of one mission touched that of the next. 
Thus nearly all the fertile land along the coast was owned 
or controlled by the missions, or, as the priests said, it was 
held by them in trust for the Indians. 

For a year or two after the founding of San Diego and 
Monterey, food was sent up by ship from Mexico. But as 
the vessels might be even months later than was expected, 
the people at the missions were several times brought to 



Life at the Missions 139 

the verge of starvation. As the Indians increased in num- 
bers, it became impossible to bring food enough for all 
from Mexico. Every effort was made to raise grain and 
vegetables, and as the herds became larger, there was 
meat also to eat. 

More than once in the early years, the fathers had to 
ask for acorns, grass seeds, and pine nuts. Then the 
Indians went out and filled their deep, cone-shaped baskets 
with whatever they could find. Returning home, they 
pounded out the meal and baked bread as in the days 
when they roamed at will, thus saving the people at the 
mission from starvation. At some of the missions it was 
always a custom to let the neophytes go out to gather nuts 
and seeds at the proper seasons. The Indians were fond 
of them for food, and their use saved some of the mission 
stores. At San Diego, whenever dry seasons destroyed 
the crops, the Indians were sent out into the mountains 
to hunt food in their old way as best they might. 

The fathers soon saw that if they were to have good 
crops, they must irrigate some of their land. Here was 
more hard work for the Indians. Miles of irrigating 
ditches were dug, and thousands of acres watered by the 
streams they brought. At Soledad there were fifteen 
miles of these ditches; at Purisima the streams from many 
small springs were brought together into one flume, and a 
supply of delicious water was always to be depended on 
at that mission. Irrigation was a necessity for all the 
missions. 

The fathers liked to walk around their gardens, and 
well they might. Peaches, pears, pomegranates, oranges, 



140 



The Missions of Alt a California 



limes, citrons, dates, figs, grapes, all grew freely. Wheat, 
maize, beans, barley, were raised in abundance after the 
missions were once well started. When Americans first 
came to California they were surprised to see such a wealth 
of good things to eat. 

Day after day passed in much the same way at the 
missions, but every day was a busy one. La Perouse, a 
French traveler who visited San Carlos in 1786, left an 




Ruined fountain at the Mission of San Fernando 



account of what he saw there ; with a few exceptions the 
description would apply to any mission. At sunrise the 
whole place was astir. The church bells soon rang, and 
everybody spent an hour at prayers. Then came break- 
fast of atole, a porridge made of barley. During the hour 
for prayers this was cooked in three great boilers from 
which all the Indians were served. Each family ate by 



Life at the Missions 141 

itself ; from every hut came some one with a bowl made 
of the bark of a tree ; into it was put the family supply of 
porridge, which was taken away and eaten at home. The 
unmarried ate in their halls. During the forenoon all the 
men and women worked in the fields or shops. Any day 
of the year girls could be seen in the courtyard spinning. 
At noon the church bell rang again ; work stopped and din- 
ner was eaten. This, too, was of porridge, but made this 
time of peas, beans, wheat, and maize. Everybody worked 
again until about five in the afternoon ; then came another 
hour for prayers at the church, followed by supper. 
Again porridge was served, made of barley as in the morn- 
ing. The evening was short, for all went to bed in good 
season in order to be up with the next morning's sun. 

As one writer says, there was plenty to eat, but it was 
always porridge. Three times a day the great boilers 
were heated, and the wooden bowls filled ; the only differ- 
ence in their contents being the grain used. Large as the 
herds of animals became, fond as the Indians were of 
meat, it was seldom given them. According to La 
Perouse, only on saints' day, and then it was often eaten 
raw with pieces of fat as the choicest morsels. Some of 
the missions, however, gave the Indians meat once a week. 
Every Friday some of the vaqueros, or herdsmen, went 
out to the herds, separated out twenty or thirty cattle, 
and drove them into a corral. Saturday morning they 
were lassoed, and brought out one by one to be killed 
and divided. The Spaniards selected whatever pieces 
they wished, and what was left was given to the neophytes 
as their share for the coming week. No matter what the 



142 The Missions of Alta California 

amount, it rarely lasted the Indians longer than over Sun- 
day and Monday, for they feasted on it with their savage 
gluttony as long as any scraps were left. 

Once baptized, the Indian belonged to the church; his 
days of freedom were over. He was under orders as to 
the time of getting up in the morning, eating his meals, 
going to church. With all the longing of his nature, the 
Indian looked at the thousands of horses around him ; but 
he must not ride unless he were a vaquerb, or a cattle 
herder, for with a horse under him he might escape. He 
must not leave the settlement without permission from the 
fathers; and this was rarely given him lest he should 
return to his gentile friends, and be lost to the church. 

Nearly all the work of the missions was done by the 
Indians, who learned quickly the simple trades. As new 
neophytes came, they were taught by the priests, by Span- 
iards sent to California for that purpose, or by Indians 
who had already become good workmen. 

They cultivated fields, herded animals, built houses, spun 
wool, and wove the coarse cloth used at the missions and 
by some Spaniards in California. They were cooks, tailors, 
hat makers, shoemakers. They learned to make saddles 
and to stamp the leather used. They made ox-horn cups, 
softening the horn by soaking, shaping it over wood, and 
engraving it with a common nail. In many of these crafts 
the neophytes became skillful, satisfying the simple wants 
of the mission days. In short, the Indians who had been 
so lazy in the wilderness did all kinds of work for the 
priests ; but it must be remembered that the fathers 
planned it all for them, showed them how to do it, and 



Life at the Missions 



143 



sent overseers with them to be sure that all directions were 
obeyed. They knew that the Indians were like children. 
Left to themselves they would not and did not work ; but 
under the constant training and watching of the few sol- 
diers, the priests, and the Spanish workmen at every 
mission, they did almost everything. So complete and 
sudden a change in the lives of savages could not be made 




Court and arches at San Luis Rey 

without some evil effects. One of these showed itself 
after a few years in the large number of deaths among the 
neophytes. 

For convenience in working and in training, the Indians 
were divided into small companies or gangs of workmen, 
each with its overseer. A trusted Indian was often put 
into this position, and by bearing responsibilities he usu- 
ally became Still more capable. If all the neophytes had 
shared in the responsibilities of the missions, they would 



144 The Missions of Alta California 

have reasoned better, would have gained more self-control, 
and the history of the missions and of the Indians of Cali- 
fornia would have been wonderfully changed. 

They went to church two hours of the day and the 
fathers taught them a short catechism. It was not an 
education of the mind; it was more like teaching a parrot 
or a monkey or a dog. The lesson was said over and over 
until the Indians could repeat portions. As it was not in 
their language they could not understand what they were 
saying, but could only repeat names and words that came 
often in the service. If they were slow in learning, or 
made many mistakes, they might, perhaps, be punished 
like an animal, by being cuffed or beaten. If the lesson 
were well done, they were rewarded by some favorite mor- 
sel to eat, or by a holiday. An extra portion of grain was 
a reward. It could be ground and made into a cake to be 
baked in the ashes. The porridge, which, in cooking, 
thickens at the bottom of the boiler, was scraped out and 
given to some child to repay some well-learned catechism. 

This was all the teaching that the Indians received. 
They picked up a few Spanish words, but were never 
carefully taught the language. On this ignorance was 
built up the immense system of Indian labor at the mis- 
sions, and an unsafe foundation it proved to be. Such 
training did not change the savage nature, which made 
itself felt on many occasions. 

Since the Indians were in many ways like overgrown 
children, it is not surprising that they had to be punished. 
This was usually done by giving a few lashes on the bare 
back, but in later years punishments became more cruel. 



Life at the Missions 



145 



As more and more Indians came to the missions, the num- 
ber of little offenses and annoyances increased, and the 
whip was in daily use. During the first thirty or thirty- 
five years of mission 
life everybody, man, 
woman, and child, took 
his whipping as good- 
naturedly as could be 
expected. The Indians 
knew that they de- 
served to be punished, 
and they had great 
respect for the priests, 
who were like fathers 
toward them. So, after 
the punishment was 
ended, they kissed the 
priest's hand and went 
back to work with no 
hard feelings in their 
hearts. Later there 
will be a different and 
a sadder story to tell. 

Although the Indians worked hard and were under 
strict discipline, they were given many amusements. On 
Sundays there was no work. They went to church three 
or four more hours than usual, but the rest of the day was 
free for games or idleness. Sometimes on Saturday 
evenings there was dancing, and there were many oppor- 
tunities for fun and pleasure. On great occasions, such 

SPAN. IN SOU! HWES1 — IO 




Bells of San Gabriel 



146 The Missions of Alta California 

as the visits of a governor or some noted man from abroad, 
the priests helped plan the entertainment. One of the 
most important for such an occasion was a mock battle 
according to savage customs. Painted as in olden times, 
decked out with feathers such as they had gloried in 
before the coming of white men, the Indians played at a 
battle between angry villages. But it was only a show, 
and, at the end, the bows and arrows and war clubs were 
brought back to the priests. They might have proved 
dangerous weapons if left in the hands of the Indians. 
The old games, such as " takersia " and driving the 
wooden ball to the enemy's base, were often played, and 
there seems to have been no new one to take their places. 
One of the new pleasures that came to the Indians was 
the music learned for the church. They were taught to 
use several instruments, and they played with equal gusto 
whether at mass in the morning or at a ball in the even- 
ing. Celebrations at the church were brilliant days, dear 
to the Indian musicians. Near the priests in their cere- 
monial robes were the Indians of the choir in bright-col- 
ored dress. Thirty or forty, or for great occasions even 
a hundred, men and boys took part. They played the 
viol, violin, flute, trumpet, and drum ; and the voices of all 
joined in singing the hymns. An Indian of Santa Clara 
is mentioned who possessed a tenor voice which filled the 
church and delighted all who heard it. It is true that the 
music was not always in perfect harmony, but as the 
instruments used by the Indians were usually also made 
by them, it is not surprising that there were many dis- 
cords in their playing. 



Life at the Missions 



147 



The religion taught by the priests did not go deep 
enough to root out all the superstition of the Indians. 
Who could expect that it would in one generation ? We 
may be sure that even the best and brightest of the 
mission Indians could not quite escape from the weird and 
fascinating magic of the savages, as they heard it whis- 
pered among their parents and grandparents. 

They believed that on dark nights the fore feet of a 
horse could be so paralyzed by an owl that the animal 
could not travel. They watched with all the absolute cre- 
dulity of the savage a sorcerer swallow a fiber from a 




Mission of Santa Barbara 



plant and pull it out of his big toe as a snake. When 
sick, they often preferred their native medicine men, for 
they believed in their ways of treatment rather than in the 
doses given by the priests. 

At Santa Barbara many Indians were dying from a 



148 The Missions of Alta California 

disease which it seemed impossible to check. While it 
was raging, one of the neophytes dreamed that all the 
baptized Indians would die unless they made sacrifices to 
Chupu. Now this Chupu, or Achup, was a god of the 
Indians living on the channel, and the priests had long 
been struggling to make the Indians give him up. But 
the neophyte who had dreamed of Chupu believed in his 
power to save from death. Secretly he told his dream to 
his friends, they passed it on to others, and in less than 
an hour it was known to all the mission Indians. It was 
death for any one to tell it to the priests, who therefore 
remained in ignorance of all the fears and superstitions 
trembling around them. Unknown to the fathers, the 
Indians went to Chupu, offered sacrifices as commanded 
in the dream, and declared themselves no longer Chris- 
tians. Whether the epidemic was checked is not re- 
corded, but for a time the old superstition was far stronger 
than the new religion. 

Visitors were always welcome at the missions. The 
guest rooms were ready, the dining room was large, food 
was abundant. When Father Serra's plan had been car- 
ried out, and the nineteen missions had been founded from 
San Francisco to San Diego, they were about a day's 
travel of thirty miles apart. The traveler could leave 
one in the morning and arrive at the next in good season 
for a night's meal and rest. There was no need to ask 
for food and shelter, they were ready for any one. As the 
horseman rode up to the gate of the courtyard he was 
met by an Indian lad who came forward to take his horse. 
If a meal hour were not near, chocolate and some light 



Life at the Missions 149 

refreshments were offered to stay the appetite until dinner 
could be served. The table was supplied with the best 
from the gardens, orchards, and herds. Perhaps, in obe- 
dience to his vows, the priest ate sparingly ; but the visi- 
tor was expected to do justice to whatever was on the 
table. In the morning a fresh horse was brought to take 
the place of the tired one ridden the day before ; or the 
horseman might take his pick from the herds. A boun- 
tiful luncheon was provided, and, if necessary, a guide to 
the next mission. Should the visitor decide to stay a 
week instead of only over night, he did not wear out his 
welcome. 

The usual visitors were from Mexico or they were Cal- 
ifornians, such as the governor or military commander of 
the province, soldiers or priests, going from one mission 
to another. There were many of them, and probably a 
week or even a day rarely passed without one or more 
guests to share the hospitality of the mission. By this 
means the distance from San Diego to San Francisco was 
covered easily and almost without expense to the traveler. 

Occasionally some ship's captain or traveler or explorer 
from the distant countries of Europe or America cast, 
anchor in one of the bays and visited the missions. 
These were pleasant occasions for the priests, giving them 
glimpses into the world so far away from them. In the 
accounts of some of these men, as La Perouse of France, 
Vancouver of England, and Alfred Robinson of the United 
States, is to be found our most valuable information of 
conditions at the missions. It would have been useless 
and discourteous for such visitors to offer money in pay- 



150 The Missions of Alta California 

ment for the lavish hospitality which they had enjoyed ; 
but the fathers gladly accepted gifts for the church. 

La Perouse, who was in California in 1786, sent the 
priests at San Carlos some presents which proved valuable. 
These were some potatoes and some seeds of French 
plants, prized additions to the kitchen garden ; and a 
handmill for grinding grain into flour. Up to this time 
there had been no mills in California ; the Indian women 
pounded or crushed the grains in their mortars or on 
metates ; some of them were kept grinding constantly to 
supply meal for the porridge for hundreds of Indians 
three times a day. Strange as it may seem, the fathers 
at San Carlos did not make much use of this mill. They 
said that it ground out the meal too rapidly and left the 
women nothing to do. They knew that it was necessary 
to keep the Indians busy. 

Questions. — What kind of a place was selected for a new mission? 
What supplies were taken? What men must stay at the new settle- 
ment? 

What two reasons can be given for the Indians learning more readily 
to work than to understand the religion of the fathers? 

Who did the work at the missions? Were there many Spaniards 
there? What was usually their part in the work? Was there any rea- 
son for keeping the Indians so busy? 

What caused the affection between the fathers and the natives? In 
what three ways, at least, did the Indians improve by their life at the 
missions? Can any reason be given why they may have been unhappy 
at times? What were the fathers trying to do for them? 

What was the probable feeling of strangers toward the missions? 




Locution of the 
MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA 



SCALE OF MILES 



20 40 60 80 100 



Longitude 121 If from 119 Greenwich 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE SLAVERY OF THE MISSIONS 

When, in 1769, the priests were allowed to come to 
California to establish missions, it was with the under- 
standing that they should teach the Indians to take care 
of themselves so that they could be made citizens. The 
missions were in existence sixty-five years, from 1 769-1 834, 
but they failed in this object desired by Spain and later by 
Mexico. Thousands and tens of thousands of Indians 
were taken into the church at the various missions along 
the coast, but very few of the neophytes reached the point 
where they could safely have been made citizens. 

There were several reasons for this failure of the mission- 
aries to do what was expected of them. Tribes of savages 
cannot, in sixty years, be changed into a civilized people ; 
centuries are needed for such a change. The Californian 
Indians were naturally very stupid and, worse yet, lazy 
both in mind and body ; their stupidity might have been 
educated out of them or their children, as is shown by 
many honest, fairly intelligent laborers to-day, but with 
most of the savages the laziness seemed to cling to the 
very marrow of their bones. A third reason was that 
none of the teaching led the Indians to think or act for 
themselves; every act was planned for them. It was the 

152 



The Slavery of the Missions 



153 



policy of the missions to train obedient, industrious, child- 
like servants of the church, and the early missionaries 
succeeded remarkably ; but they did not educate thinking, 
reasoning, questioning men and women. As years passed, 
this policy of training the body without developing the 
mind had a most unfortunate result, unexpected, probably, 
by the missionaries themselves : it brought about what has 




Mission of San Gabriel 



been called the slavery of the missions. This means 
simply that the neophytes were not their own masters, nor 
were they capable of being so ; they belonged to the 
church and were ruled by the priests. 

In the later years of missions this condition became 
unbearable to the Indians and to all thinking, sympathetic 
Spaniards both in and out of the missions ; but in the 
early days it was a pleasant relation on both sides. The 
fathers taught the Indians and took care of them in many 



154 The Missions of A It a California 

ways, giving them a fairly happy life ; in return, the neo- 
phytes loved and served the priests. 

Father Serra was beloved by the Indians of San Carlos 
where his work was done. Father Peyri, of San Luis 
Rey, was devoted to his neophytes and they to him. 
Vancouver, an Englishman who visited California in 1793, 
tells of the strong affection of the Indians of Santa Bar- 
bara for their priest. He offered to take the missionary 
home from a visit to another mission. The Indian ser- 
vants could not be accommodated on the ship, and for 
some reason they began to suspect that the priest would 
not be safe. They begged him not to return by water. 
Breaking out into cries and entreaties, they insisted that 
they knew he would not reach home in safety. To their 
distress he embarked, and their moans and tears redoubled 
as he left them on the beach. When the voyage was at 
an end, Vancouver saw a new proof of affection on the 
part of the Indians. 

It was early in the morning when he and the father 
walked over to the mission. By some means the Indians 
learned of the approach of the priest, and came quickly to 
meet him. The road was soon filled with neophytes, who 
crowded forward, expressing in many ways their affection 
for the father and their joy at his safe return. At first, 
Vancouver thought that the great numbers coming toward 
them were attracted only by curiosity, but he was soon 
convinced that nothing but love for the missionary had 
caused the neophytes to come out so early in the morning. 

A number of such incidents might be given, showing 
the affection between the fathers and the Indians. There 



The Slavery of the Missions 



155 



can be no question about the earnestness and sincere 
intentions of the priests. They braved all the hardships 
of life in a new country in their honest desire to improve 
the condition of the Indians. They did not doubt that 
they were taking the right way to accomplish their 
object. They must not be judged by the standards of 
to-day nor of our coun- 
try. They were Span- 
iards ; they lived in the 
eighteenth century ; and 
Spain at that time was 
behind the rest of the 
world. They believed 
that the Indians had no 
need to think for them- 
selves, but that they 
should be guided in 
everything ; that their 
happiest life was to do 
just what the church 
told them and in just 
the way the church 
directed. The priests 
stood for the church 
in the lives of natives, 
consequently it was the 
priests who were to be obeyed. If the Indians disobeyed 
they must be punished for their own good, since it might 
help bring them into a happier life. With all the fanati- 
cism of Spaniards of their day the missionaries labored to 




Stairway to choir, San Gabriel 



156 The Missions of Alt a California 

teach the natives. They were earnest and genuine, and 
many of them were kind and affectionate. There are few 
men of to-day who would be willing to undergo the hard- 
ships, discouragements, and isolation, so bravely and 
cheerily met by the priests of Alta California. Never- 
theless, their system was touched by the blight and decay 
which fell upon everything that Spain tried to do in the 
New World. Out of the very enthusiasm of the mission- 
aries grew the enslavement of the Indians. 

The mission era from 1769 to 1834 divides naturally 
into two periods. The first covers about forty years, 
from the foundation to the early part of the next century, 
somewhere about 18 10. This has been called the "era of 
calm " ; the second, from near the first of the century 
until the downfall of the missions, was a period of resist- 
ance. 

During the first em the Indians were slowly learning 
family life, obedience, and industry, the first three steps 
out of savagery. They were often punished by the 
priests, there were many runaways and some uprisings on 
the part of the Indians; but none of these difficulties 
seems to have grown out of hatred toward the priests or 
resistance to the mission life. They were the natural 
results of trying to teach savages. There was only one 
serious rebellion, that at San Diego in 1 775, when the 
mission was burned, four of its people killed, and three 
wounded, — a serious loss where there were so few white 
people. Ordinarily life passed quietly and as happily as 
could be expected for missionaries and neophytes. After 
the first two or three years of struggling for a beginning, 



The Slavery of the Missions 157 

the number of Indians who came into the missions in- 
creased steadily. There were marriages, births, and 
deaths, pleasure and suffering, joy and sadness, very 
much as in any other condition of life ; and the missions 
grew rapidly in wealth. But as the " era of calm" drew 
near its close, matters changed for the worse. 

Perhaps this change was due to the fact that during the 
first period the priests who had come from Mexico when 
the project was new, were still at work among the Indians. 
Their interests in the Indians were many and genuine, 
and they treated the simple natives with a fatherly affec- 
tion. In the second period the Indians had sunk into 
the condition of slaves. They were herded to their work 
like animals, almost anything was thought good enough 
for their food and clothing, and they were punished fre- 
quently and severely. Several new priests had come from 
Mexico to take the place of the older ones who had died 
or been obliged to leave California ; they looked with 
less and less interest on the stupid neophytes, until 
they began to regard them as made only to do the work 
of the missions, — to be punished if they did not, and to 
be caught and brought back if they tried to run away 
from their hard tasks. It is not strange, perhaps, that 
from being always with the savages, the new missionaries 
came to look on them as hopelessly weak, and that a 
species of slavery became established in every mission, 
more or less severe according to the nature of the priests. 

In this second period, the fatherly punishments of 
earlier days gave way to those given less sympathetically. 
There was more frequent use of the stocks and of leg 



158 



The Missions of Alta California 



irons for runaways ; imprisonments were common. Not 
a day passed without some punishments, and usually there 
were many. The whippings had at first been only a few 
lashes ; but as years passed, the floggings became very 

severe. More cruel 
whips were used ; men, 
and in some cases 
women also, were 
whipped in public, and 
their cries and screams, 
together with the sight 
of their sufferings, wak- 
ened fear and hatred 
among their fellows. It 
is probable that, by see- 
ing the whip used every 
day, the missionaries 
had become hardened 
without knowing it, and 
increased the number of 
lashes without realizing 
how much they were 
also increasing the suf- 
ferings of those pun- 
ished. The Indians, under this harsh treatment, grew 
sullen, restless, and dangerous. Runaways were so fre- 
quent that it became a common practice to send out hunt- 
ing parties to bring them back. These were usually of 
soldiers, but trusted Indians were also used to hunt out the 
fugitives. Punishments for runaways were made more 




A wood carrier 



The Slavery of the Missions 159 

and more severe, but still the more savage as well as the 
more intelligent Indians would take the risks rather than 
endure life at the missions. Some of the less daring spirits 
vented their hatred in attempts to poison the priests or 
set fire to the mission buildings. Every offense of this 
kind tightened the bonds of the Indians and widened the 
breach between them and the white people. The missions 
were not succeeding in educating citizens, but they were 
stirring up the spirit of opposition and revenge. 

These conditions became a scandal to the church, deeply 
regretted by all priests and laymen who had the best 
interests of the missions at heart. As De Neve, one of 
the early governors of the province, said, such treatment 
could not elevate the Indians, could not educate their 
manliness. From 1794 to 1800, the governor of the Cali- 
fornias was Borica, a high-principled man, determined in 
his efforts to better affairs in the province. He proved 
himself a friend to the Indians, and in all that he did for 
them he was ably seconded by several missionaries, espe- 
cially by Father Fernandez. Borica insisted that the 
brutal floggings should cease, that the neophytes should 
be well fed and clothed, and that they should not work as 
hard as had come to be the case. While he was gov- 
ernor the Indians received better treatment, for he was 
known to be earnest in his demands ; but when he 
returned to Mexico, the Indians were again used as harshly 
as before. 

During the second period of mission life there were 
many outbreaks on the part of the Indians ; and the 
Spanish Indian fighter, Moraga, had his hands full in 



160 The Missions of Alta California 

quelling revolts at different places from San Diego to San 
Francisco. In 1824 there was said to be a plot to kill off 
all the white people, in order that the Indians might get 
back the right to their land and to their own liberty. But 
all the risings were put down before there was serious injury 
to any mission. The Indians found expression for their 
hatred in other ways, more secret and dangerous. At 
Santa Cruz a priest was murdered ; once or twice food was 
poisoned ; fear and suspicion were felt at all the missions. 
The desperate struggles of the Indians were of no use ; 
but interference in their condition was coming from an- 
other direction. The government of Mexico was about to 
secularize the missions. 

Questions. — What did Spain expect the fathers to do for the 
Indians ? What three difficulties prevented the priests from doing it ? 
(See text.) Can any means be suggested by which the first difficulty 
might have been overcome? the second? the third? 

Why were the fathers unable to overcome the first difficulty? the 
second? the third? 

How would the Indians be helped toward civilization by learning 
family life? obedience? industry? How would these lessons help them 
to become good citizens ? 

Did the Spaniards approve of the way in which the Indians were 
treated? Did the church approve? did all the priests? did the gov- 
ernors? 

What did the unhappy life of the Indians lead them to do? What 
did the government of Mexico decide to do about the missions? 



CHAPTER XVII 

SECULARIZATION 

For more than sixty years the missions did their work, 
and then, like a gray-haired old man whose life has been 
spent, they passed away. Their death blow came to them 
from Mexico. It had been long expected, but it was none 
the less unwelcome to the missionaries. This end of the 
Spanish missions is known as secularization; that is, giving 
over to the state what had belonged to the church. The 
missions were to have made citizens of the Indians ; Mex- 
ico now claimed that this was accomplished, and that the 
Indians should no longer belong to the church, but should 
be given over to the state. 

The priests knew that the Indians were far from ready 
to take care of themselves, and that if turned over to the 
state, all the work and wealth of the missions would be 
lost. How much reason they had for these fears a few 
years showed. 

Somewhere about 1828 the Indians learned of the plan. 
This was unfortunate, for the Mexican government worked 
so slowly that some years passed without changes, and 
the Indians became restless, troublesome, and dangerous. 
They would not obey the fathers. In some cases they 
refused to work. Runaways were more frequent, and 

SPAN. IN" SOUTHWEST — II l6l 



1 62 The Missions of Alta California 

large numbers of horses and cattle were stolen from the 
mission herds. Some of the more intelligent southern 
Indians demanded a share in land and animals, and the 
right to take care of themselves. 

In 1834 the law went into effect. As Mexico intended 
that the Indians should support themselves, some of the 
mission animals were divided among them. The priests 
had always claimed that the land belonged to the Indians, 
and that the church held it in trust for them. So they 
were now allowed to stay on the mission estates, where it 
was the plan that every Indian should have a certain por- 
tion of good land given him for raising fruits and vege- 
tables. They were to be given seeds and farming tools, 
and were to obey the orders of the general government in 
Mexico instead of those of the priests. The missionaries 
were still to teach them in religious matters, but in all else 
the Indians were to consider themselves free from the men 
who had been their own and their fathers' masters and 
leaders in even the smallest details of life. In short, small 
Indian states were to be formed at every mission. 

Perhaps in all history there has been no better illustra- 
tion of how impossible it is to make a nation suddenly. 
These low, brutish natives had been under the care of the 
priests for more than sixty years. Children had grown to 
manhood in the shadow of the missions ; they had been 
taught many useful crafts ; but they were still wholly 
unable to take care of themselves. As soon as the guid- 
ance of the priests was removed, their old laziness came 
back ; only a few could plan their work or act as lead- 
ers ; they took no thought of the future. They wore 



Seen la riza tio n 163 

far from ready to be left to themselves, as Mexico soon 
found out. 

The intention of the government was good enough in 
itself ; and to the Mexicans, several hundred miles away, 
the plan looked very promising. But it proved to be the 
destruction of the missions, and a deathblow to the little 
civilization which had been gained by the Indians. 

For some years the missionaries had known that the law 
must surely come. Despairing of receiving any return for all 
their time and labor, they determined to act before the text 
of the law could reach them from Mexico. At some of the 
missions, a slaughter of the cattle was ordered, or the right 
sold to some outsider. Only the hides were of value, and 
so the bodies were left to rot. Around the wealthy San 
Gabriel mission the sight was especially harrowing. The 
ground was strewn with the carcasses of animals, and for 
years the plains for miles around w r ere w T hitened by the 
bleaching bones. 

Rapidly the missions and the system of caring for the 
Indians fell into ruin. Some of the priests returned to 
Mexico or Europe ; the Indians were scattered, the ani- 
mals killed or taken by strangers or left to run w r ild ; 
the gardens and orchards were overrun by weeds and 
underbrush, and thousands of acres were claimed by new- 
comers. A description of San Carlos in 1840, only six 
years after secularization, speaks of the mission as de- 
serted. The once busy courts and Indian quarters were 
overgrown with grass, the looms were silent, the shops 
were closed, the once open doors of the church were 
locked, and only a few Indian huts were left near the 



164 



The Missions of Alta California 



group of now gloomy buildings. Where all had been life 
and action there was only solitude. 

The last event in the history of the missions may be 
said to have occurred in 1845. Pio Pico, the governor, 
issued a proclamation which was intended to close up the 
affairs of the missions of Alta California. Five of the 
missions and the estates belonging to them, besides parts 




Ruins of San Fernando 



of four others, were to be sold ; four were to be rented 
to the highest bidders ; the remaining six were also to be 
rented as soon as their affairs could be straightened out 
legally. 

The missions as a part of the active life of Alta Cali- 
fornia were dead. They passed out of existence, and the 
streams of the new life in California flowed over their 
ruins with hardly a ripple to tell of what lay beneath. 



Secularization 



165 



The only people who were seriously affected by their 
destruction were the Indians. 

The mission Indians seemed to dwindle out of existence, \ 
to melt away into nothingness. Where there had been 
hundreds and even thousands of neophytes, they were soon 
to be counted only by tens. In 1839, at San Luis Rey, 
five hundred were left ; at San Juan Capistrano, about 




Interior of ruins of San Fernando 



eighty , in each case about an eighth of the former num- 
ber. Similar conditions prevailed at all the missions. 
The few who were left complained bitterly of the treat- 
ment given them by the officers sent out by the govern- 
ment. They said that they were crowded off the best 
lands of the old mission estates; food was rarely given 
them ; and they were in such rags that some of the women 
had been obliged to make and wear tule skirts like those 
worn by the savages. They were flogged for every little 



1 66 The Missions of Alta California 

offense, and far more cruelly than in the days of mission 
life. 

Those of the neophytes who stayed near the missions, 
trying to adapt themselves to the new .life, were usually 
men and women grown old under the call of the well- 
known bells. They could not go out again into the wild 
mountains to live as the savages of their own race must 
live ; so, in their poverty and helplessness, they lived on 
near the old homes, or hid somewhere away from the curi- 
ous, unsympathetic white men. Robbed of their share 
of the horses and cattle, deserted by the younger people, 
many of them too old or too weak to work, they dragged 
out the remnant of their wretched lives. 

By 1845 the condition of the few remaining Indians at 
all the missions may be pictured by those who still clung 
to their homes at San Francisco Dolores. Eight old 
Indians were then living there, poor, ragged, hungry, de- 
serted, too old to work, dependent on the bits of charity 
that occasionally found a way into their hands. 

Some, who did not wish either to stay at the missions 
or to go into the mountains tried to take part in the life 
around them. Some of the women married white men. 
They were frequently very capable both at home and in 
business, and a few of them entered excellent families. 
These women were probably the happiest of their race. 
Other neophytes became servants among the Spaniards ; 
some were well treated ; some were kept against their 
wills, having foolishly sold themselves to a year or more 
of service in return for some trifle which had pleased their 
fancy for a moment. Still others loitered around in the 



Secularization 



167 



towns and villages ; there they were liable to yield to the 
constant temptation of gambling and drinking, and so they 
sank quickly to the lowest levels of society. 

Many wandered off to the mountains among the " gen- 
tile " Indians. When they found that they no longer had 
to obey the missionaries, their old laziness reasserted itself, 
and with it came a delight in their freedom. The officers 
of the government, sent to take care of them for a time, 
remonstrated because they would not plow or sow. " They 




Many wandered off to the mountains ' 



cried as with one voice, ' We are free. It is not our pleas- 
ure to obey. We do not choose to work.' " 

These wanderers killed the few cattle given them by the 
state, and they were not always particular to spare those 
which belonged to others. The hides were sold, and the 



1 68 The Missions of Alt a California 

flesh eaten. They drove off the horses to the mountains, 
not leaving enough for the few Indians who stayed around 
the missions to cultivate their land." Nothing could induce 
those who thus went away to return. They usually took 
with them all the evil habits learned from the white peo- 
ple ; for it is a pitiable fact that when savages come in 
contact with a more civilized race they are at first influ- 
enced most strongly by the vices of their superiors. 

Such Indians as these were a constant menace to the 
Spaniards and Americans. They stole horses and cattle 
which were left unguarded, until it became necessary to 
send out parties of armed men to hunt them down. The 
taste for wine and brandy, learned among the Californians, 
made them quarrelsome and killed off many. Very differ- 
ent were these horse thieves and marauders from the 
peaceful, trusting natives who had welcomed the explorers 
when they first came to the shores of the Pacific. The 
coming of the white men had brought destruction to the 
Indians. 

Lest the picture be thought too dark, it must be remem- 
bered that many of the Indians of to-day, descendants, 
perhaps, of the neophytes, have become honest, sturdy 
laborers, showing unmistakably that there was in the race 
an ability to rise above the condition in which the missions 
found them or left them. The missionaries, also, deserve 
much credit. We may blame them for having kept the 
natives in a dependent state ; but in the end we must 
respect the priests for the earnestness of their lives and 
efforts, and we must praise them for the wonders which 
they did perform. 



Seen la riza tion 1 69 

Nevertheless, the few ruinous churches and the heaps 
of adobe bricks to be seen here and there in California are 
sad reminders of a failure. The priests had tried to hold 
the country for Spain, and it passed into the hands of 
strangers. They had tried to convert the Indians to 
Christianity, and, in the end, only a few kept the faith 
which they had been taught. They had shown the igno- 
rant natives how to clothe themselves, and how to make 
everything for their simple needs ; and their descendants 
went back into the wilderness, where they were glad to 
accept the cast-off garments of their w r hite neighbors. 
The priests had tried to teach them some forms of civil- 
ized life, and when the mission system went to pieces, the 
most striking traits of character in the Indian's nature 
were thievery and drunkenness. 

With the desertion of the Indians, and the sailing of the 
fathers, the missions were given over to decay. The 
adobe buildings needed constant care, and when left to 
themselves quickly fell to pieces. Here and there, a 
crumbling ruin may still be seen, overlooking the valleys 
and hills where once its grain flourished and its cattle 
pastured ; but the gray adobe ruin is tottering to its fall, 
like a conquered, forgotten monarch who failed in his 
efforts to wear his crown. 

QUESTIONS. — . Mfe was planned for the Indians after seculariza- 

tion? By whom was u. plan made ? How did it agree with the 
intention of the king of Spain when the priests first came to California? 
Did the priests think that secularization would be carried out? What 
reasons did they have for this belief? 

Had the Indians shown any progress in the mission life? Do you 
know anything about the present condition of the Indians in California? 



170 



The Missions of Alta California 



LIST OF MISSIONS 
WITH DATE OF FOUNDING 

In the early period of mission activity nineteen missions were founded ; 
later, two more were established north of San Francisco Bay, something 
in the nature of outposts against the Russians. 



San Diego . 
San Carlos 

Removed to the Carmel 
San Antonio 
San Gabriel 
San Luis Obispo 
San Francisco de Assisi 



Situated at San Francisco 



San Juan Capistrano . 

Santa Clara 

San Buenaventura 

Santa Barbara 

La Purisima Concepcion 

Santa Cruz 

Soledad 

San Jose 

San Juan Bautista 

San Miguel 

San Fernando 

San Luis Rey 

Santa Inez . 

San Rafael 

San Francisco de Solano 



June i6 ? 1769. 
June 3, 1770. 
River in 1771 . 
July 14, 1771. 
September 8, 1771 . 
September 1, 1772. 
October 9, 1776. 



November 1, 1776. 
January 18, 1777. 
March 31, 1782. 
December 4, 1786. 
December 8, 1787. 
August 28, 1 79 1. 
October 9, 1791 . 
June 1 8, 1797. 
June 24, T797. 
July 2^, 1797. 
September 8, 1797. 
June 13, 1798. 
September 17, 1804. 
December 18, 181 7. 
August 25, 1823. 



Situated at Sonoma. 



IV. SPANISH CALIFORNIA 



CHAPTER XVIII 

LIFE IN THE PUEBLOS AND ON THE RANCHES 

THERE were three kinds of homes in Spanish Cali- 
fornia : the missions, scattered along the coast from 
San Diego to San Francisco, about thirty miles apart ; the 

pueblos, or villages, 

which grew up around 
the four presidios or at 
the settlements made by 
the government colo- 
nists ; and the few 
ranchos, miles in extent, 
which had been granted 
by the crown to aristo- 
cratic Spaniards of ex- 
cellent families. 




Acorn granaries in the Yosemite Valley 



Until about 1828, the missions were the most important 
power in California. They owned nearly all the region 
from the ocean back to the Coast Range Mountains, and 
as they claimed that the property of one mission touched 
that of the next, several included in their estates thirty or 
forty square miles of territory. The fathers said that all 
the land of California belonged to the Indians, and that 

171 



172 Spanish California 

the church was holding it in trust for them until they 
could care for it themselves ; consequently they looked 
with dislike on a grant of land to any one. The missions 
were hives of industry, where lived the priests, the neo- 
phyte Indians, a few Spanish workmen, and from two to 
eight soldiers, to serve as a protection in case of trouble 
with the Indians. 

The leading pueblos grew up around the four presidios 
at San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Fran- 
cisco. Here lived most of the soldiers in the province, 
some of them with their families ; the government offi- 
cials, who were often men of wealth and power ; some- 
times, also, rancheros whose estates were not far distant. 
Smaller, less important pueblos were those made by the 
settlers sent out by the government ; such were the begin- 
nings of Los Angeles and San Jose. The colonists were 
given a small tract of land, a number of animals, and tools 
to cultivate the soil. For five years, certain supplies and 
a hundred and twenty dollars a year for each colonist, were 
sent from Mexico. Very different were these conditions 
from those under which the English on the Atlantic coast 
were struggling. But such help did more harm than good. 
Only the lower classes came, attracted by the offer of 
government aid. Once in California, there was little need 
of hard work : so the colonists lived a life of idleness, and 
were a hindrance rather than a development to the prov- 
ince. They often intermarried with the Indians, and there 
resulted a race little fitted to civilize any country. 

The men who were given large ranchos were often from 
the best families of Spain, proud of their blood, proud of 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 173 

their pure Castilian language, proud of their position 
among the first families of the New World. They lived on 
their estates almost like barons of the Middle Ages, but 
there were too few of them to give character to the popu- 
lation of the country. Such grants were few in number, 
partly because of the jealous watchfulness of the mission- 
aries and their claim to nearly all the good land along 
the coast, and partly because the Spaniards did not think 
it worth their efforts to go back into the great valleys in 
the interior of the state. 

All the inhabitants tried to live as they had lived in 
Mexico, and years passed with hardly a change in even their 
ways of dressing. There was more wealth at the missions 
than anywhere else, but of course life there was very simple. 
At the presidio pueblos there was considerable luxury 
in the homes of the officials and the wealthy rancheros ; 
but the soldiers were always poorly paid by the govern- 
ment, and often went ragged and penniless. The colo- 
nist pueblos were for years shabby villages, for the settlers 
were lazy ne'er-do-wells, who would have starved without 
the money sent them every year from Mexico. 

Would you like to take a look at the pueblo of Los 
Angeles in the early years before the coming of the 
Americans, when it was as dreamy and easy-going as any 
other old Spanish town ? In the center was a plaza, an 
open square, where much of the business of the village 
was done. Around the plaza were the houses of the first 
settlers, and on one side were the public buildings. These 
were a guardhouse for the soldiers, a town house, and a 
public granary. The buildings were of adobe. In Los 



174 Spanish California 

Angeles they were left their original mud color, but in 
Monterey they were whitewashed and the roofs were of 
red tile, giving the place a very pleasing appearance. On 
the plains back of the houses, horses and cattle pastured 
until they became such a nuisance that an adobe wall was 
built to keep them out of the pueblo. 

As new houses were needed they were put farther back, 
for all the space immediately around the plaza was taken. 
There was little need of village streets in those days, as 
there were no wagons and everybody rode horseback. 
Each man, therefore, put his house where he pleased. If 
it happened to stand across one of the bridle paths, no 
one found fault ; the riders turned out and went around, 
and in time a new path was made. So the streets, such 
as they were, zigzagged around the adobe buildings. 

It was no short task for a well-to-do Californian to build 
his roomy home, even when it was only one story in 
height. First the Indians molded the clay into bricks 
about eighteen inches square by two or three inches thick ; 
these were put into wooden forms and left in the sun to 
bake. When one side was thoroughly hard they were 
turned over to bake on the other. When dry they were 
built up by the use of adobe mortar into walls two or 
three feet thick, and, in the larger houses, the partitions 
were made in the same slow way. The walls, like the 
bricks, had to dry thoroughly, and months passed before 
the roof of tile or thatch was put on and the outside of 
the house was finished. 

It did not take long to make the inside ready for its 
owners. There was no plastering, and little wood finish- 



Life in tJie Pueblos and on the Rancjies 175 

ing. Often no windows were put in, no doors were hung, 
no floor was laid. A curtain of rawhide, hung over a 
doorway, was enough to keep out the cold ; the ground, 
beaten hard and smooth, was the usual floor. Many of 
these houses are still to be seen in Southern California, 
and, fitted up more comfortably, are lived in by Amer- 
icans. 

The wealthier rancheros had floors, wooden shutters or 
even glass for the windows, doors, and rich furniture 




House of a wealthy ranchero 



brought from Mexico or Spain. We read of sofas and 
easy chairs, but they were few before the days of the 
Americans. The usual furniture of the living room con- 
sisted of a rough table, some benches around the walls, 
and chairs with rawhide seats. The bed, too, was made 
of a rawhide, which was said to possess strange powers of 
healing the sick. Stretched tight on a wooden frame, it 



176 Spanish California 

was comfortable enough for any one, and was praised even 
by the Americans. Every Spanish housekeeper was proud 
of her beds, and white spreads and lace-trimmed pillow- 
cases were often seen in the homes of the poor as well as 
of the rich. 

Considering how bare the houses were inside, it is not 
surprising that the Spaniards lived out of doors the most 
of their time. Even on a chilly morning the easiest and 
pleasantest way of getting warm was to take a gallop 
across the hills, for the rooms were either entirely with- 
out fire or were slightly heated by a pan of coals standing 
in the center of the floor. 

The pueblo was never kept clean. There were no 
butcher shops, and every home had a slaughter yard of its 
own, where the bones of cattle lay year after year. Other 
refuse was everywhere, and the crows came in such numbers 
to feed on it that the town council of Los Angeles finally 
offered a bounty for every one killed. But some severe 
plague might have fallen on the village if the crows had 
not acted as scavengers, for the Spaniards would not clean 
the place for themselves. 

The principal pleasures in the lives of these simple, 
hospitable people were to have friends and relatives around 
them, to ride a good horse, to feast, and to dance. After 
the morning services at church, Sunday was given over to 
visiting and pleasure making. On the way home several 
families often stopped for dinner at the home of one of 
their number. The men lassoed and killed a calf, the women 
entered the kitchen as if at home, and prepared a meal for 
the whole party. 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 177 

There was always meat in abundance ; beans, onions, and 
peppers were plentiful, although as a rule vegetables were 
scarce ; grapes and other fruits were raised at the missions 
and at a few of the ranches. Milk, cheese, and butter were 
luxuries ; for although there were cattle by the thousand, 
they were wild. Some of the missions, however, and 
occasionally a ranchero, had a few half-tamed cows, and 
butter and cheese were made. To milk a cow was a great 
event, which the whole family might come out to watch. 
Three persons were necessary for the operation. The cow's 
head was tied securely with a riata, or braided rawhide, 
which was either fastened to a post or held by some strong 
person. The hind legs were tied securely with another 
riata and held by a second man, who must also fight off 
the calf if it tried to approach ; the third person did the 
milking. As this was a rare occurrence, there were no 
milk pails in a Spanish household, and all kinds of vessels 
had to be brought into use, including teacups, glasses, and 
bowls. Milk was, indeed, a luxury in California. 

On all great occasions there was a dance, or fandango 
as it was called, in one of the homes or in a public build- 
ing. Graceful Spanish dances occupied the evening ; or 
at some of the great events they were kept up for several 
nights, the days being spent in getting ready for more 
nights of revelry. As all Californians seem to have been 
related, and as horseback riding was so common, no one 
thought anything of going thirty or forty miles to a fan- 
dango at the home of some relative. 

One of the frolics often seen in connection with a carni- 
val celebration was a "battle with the Eggs were 

SPAN. IN' SOUTHWES1 — 12 



178 Spanish California 

emptied of their contents, the shells partly filled with 
cologne or sweet-scented water, and the open ends sealed up 
with wax ; sometimes the shells were filled with gold or 
silver paper cut into tiny pieces. As the guests arrived, 
or during the evening, they were pelted with the shells, 
which, as they broke, showered the victim with perfumery 
or scraps of glittering paper. The fun often raged so 
furiously that, when the eggs gave out, a stormy water fight 
followed until everybody was drenched. This part of the 
game seems to have been confined to the men, the ladies 
probably escaping when the rougher amusement began. 

Although so far away from what was fashionable life, 
the Californians were fond of fine dressing, and liked to 
think themselves very stylish. Laces, silks, satins, and 
velvets were stored away in the chests that were a part of 
the furniture in every Spanish home. All these luxuries 
must have been given the best of care, for we read of the 
same clothes being worn for three generations ; and the 
grandson was as proud of his finery as the grandfather 
had been when it was new. 

This is the way one Spanish grandee near Los Angeles 
appeared to an American early in the nineteenth century. 
His vest was of blue damask, his shortclothes of crimson 
velvet ; he wore a beautifully embroidered shirt and white 
tie. His jacket was of bright green cloth, ornamented 
with large silver buttons. His shoes were of embroidered 
deerskin. On a great holiday, when this gentleman 
appeared in his very best clothes, his whole suit is said to 
have cost more than a thousand dollars. On ordinary 
occasions a gentleman wore a short jacket of silk or figured 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 179 



material ; pantaloons of velveteen or broadcloth, open 
below the knee and laced with gilt, or short breeches and 
white stockings. A crimson scarf was twisted around his 
waist. The botas, a kind of legging, were of ornamented 
deerskin, secured by bright-colored silk garters. The 
shoes were embroidered. The hair was worn long, braided 
down the back, and tied with a ribbon. 
Over the head was often laid a black silk 
handkerchief. The hat was a broad som- 
brero, with which all Californians of to- 
day are well acquainted. The serape, or 
cloak, was never lacking; indeed it often 
indicated the rank of its owner. It was 
a large, square blanket, slit in the middle 
for passing over the head. Wealthy men 
wore costly serapes of broadcloth, heavy 
with velvet and other trimmings, while 
the poorer men wore cheap cloaks of the 
coarse woolen cloth woven at the missions. 
The ladies also enjoyed bright colors. 
The muslin skirt was often flounced with 
scarlet and fastened at the waist by a 
broad silk band of the same. The bodice was as richly 
trimmed with lace as the owner could afford. The shoes 
were of bright-colored velvet, satin, or kid. No lady's 
toilet was complete without a reboso, or long scarf, 
except that with the wealthier classes a shawl sometimes 
took its place. The reboso was worn over the head with 
that peculiar grace for which the Spanish women have 
long been noted. Bonnets and hats were almost unknown. 




A Spanish grandee 



180 Spanish California 

Jewelry was greatly admired, and nearly every woman 
managed to have at least a necklace and earrings. The 
richer ladies had fine jewels, which they kept with the 
greatest care, so that they often passed from mother to 
daughter through several generations. 

Those were the days when all the men went horseback, 
and many of the women were equally expert as riders. 
Horses always stood tied before the adobe buildings ready 
for use, even if the owner were going only a few yards 
from his house. When a horse began to look thin from 
too constant riding, he was turned out to pasture and 
another was brought in, for there was no limit to the 
number on the plains. On a long journey several were 
used ; one was ridden until worn out, then turned loose, 
and another saddled in his place. Those thus left be- 
hind were often gathered up on the return trip. Horses 
were seldom brushed and cared for in any way except for 
great occasions; but a Spaniard liked a good horse above 
everything else, and there seems to have been a perfect 
understanding between the man and his animal. 

It is no wonder that the Californians were among the 
best riders in the world, for a boy learned to ride when he 
was little more than a baby, and spent much of his life 
on a horse's back. One of the common sights around a 
pueblo was a horse, with two or three children on its back, 
tearing across the country at a full gallop. In this way 
a child learned to keep his seat under all circumstances, 
and to be perfect master of his animal. As soon as a boy 
was strong enough, he went out and lassoed a wild colt. 
Putting on saddle and bridle, he mounted, and "rode the 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 181 

horse tame," that is, until it was exhausted and could be 
readily managed. 

For all common use on the rancho, the saddle and 
stirrups were of the heavy Spanish make still used in 
some parts of the state. The pommel was high and 
strongly made, to take the resistance in lassoing animals. 
The stirrups were of wood, with leather aprons to protect 
the feet of the rider from the brush. Spurs were always 
worn, and cruel things they were, with their four or five 
long points, dull and rusty. The sides of the horses were 
often savagely torn by them. The bridle was furnished 
with a large bit, like those still sometimes used on vicious 
horses ; with it there was little difficulty in controlling the 
wildest horse that had once been ridden. A lasso, or riata, 
was always at hand, wound on the pommel of the saddle. 
It was of braided rawhide, with a slipknot at the end. 
Men and women were adepts in its use, and their feats 
of catching and felling animals are almost beyond belief. 

On holidays and great occasions the Californian took 
the greatest pride in the appearance of himself and his 
horse. A Spaniard, who a few years ago wrote about 
the fiestas in the early part of the century, says, " In 
those days the people always rode good horses." For 
any special occasion they chose their very best. These 
had " satin mouths and feet that barely touched the 
ground"; they were "light of limb"; their eyes were 
of fire; they were " devourers of miles and leagues, tire- 
less, indomitable." 

Steed and rider were decked in splendid trappings for 
these occasions. The black or red saddle was of beauti- 



1 82 Spanish California 

fully stamped leather, embroidered with silver threads ; 
the pommel and seat were edged with silver ; the bridle 
and reins were heavily mounted with silver, the latter 
sometimes being made of filagree. The rider wore a 
short, graceful riding jacket, richly trimmed with gold 
and silver. Garments of velvet and of other rich mate- 
rial made the Calif ornian seem like a knight come down 
from the days of chivalry. The prancing horse and the 
brilliantly dressed rider were a gorgeous sight. 

Where so many rode horseback there was little need 
of carriages. Sometimes a priest had a carreta, as the 
ox cart was called ; and some of the ladies used them for 
going to church or on the frequent pleasure expeditions. 
But they were usually used for hauling grain or goods. 

These carts were very rude affairs. The wheels, either 
two or four in number, were crosscuts from a log. A hole 
was bored through the center and a pole run through for 
an axle. On this was placed a rough wooden frame, over 
the sides and bottom of which were stretched hides. Cush- 
ions were used to give a little comfort to the springless cart. 
Two oxen were yoked to the carreta, their heads being 
lashed to a strong stick about four feet long. A driver 
rode on a horse by their sides to manage them. These 
oxen were not always the slow-going animals that we 
think them, for they were often driven at a gallop, 
rattling over the rough roads, the dust flying in clouds, 
the rude wheels creaking and screaming until they could 
be heard a mile away. 

Rude as the carretas were for all ordinary occasions, 
there were times when they seemed almost as fine as the 



Life ill the Pueblos and on the Ranches 183 

prancing steeds ridden by the men. For the fiestas 
they were covered with a brilliant canopy. Sometimes 
this was a gay silk bedspread, worked in beautiful 
flowers ; a long fringe hung down the sides almost to 
the axle, protecting the girls and women from the 
bright rays of the sun. Or lace curtains, Chinese crepe, 




Going to church in a carreta 

or bright-colored rebosos were used as canopies, giving 
beauty to the otherwise rude carriages. 

Few of the Californians could either read or write, and 
there were not many books in the whole province. The 
two or three libraries that were owned by some of the 
wealthier and better educated men never had much 
effect on the general culture of the province. 



184 Spanish California 

Here is a description of a school in Monterey, taken 
from an account written by one of the pupils after 
he had become a man. The schoolroom was long and 
narrow ; a dim light entered through a few small windows ; 
the floor was the hard, beaten ground; the thick adobe 
walls kept the room chilly even in summer. The whole 
place had a dirty, dilapidated appearance which must have 
made every child long for the bright sunshine, the pure air, 
the clear blue sky out of doors. 

At one end of this gloomy room was a platform on 
which was a table covered with a dingy black cloth. 
Here sat the teacher, the center of all the life and 
misery of the school. He was an old soldier, too nearly 
worn out to serve any more, but thought to be in good 
enough condition to teach the children how to write and 
to say their catechism. His face was so ill tempered that 
even the boldest boys looked on it with fear and trembling. 
Every pupil who entered walked the length of the room 
and kissed the master's hand. 

The writing lesson always brought tears and trouble. 
The copy was set by the master, the quill pen was sharp- 
ened, and the boy began his unwelcome task. The little 
fingers were more skillful in throwing a toy riata or in 
controlling an unruly horse than in guiding an awkward 
pen over blank white paper. A blot was sure to fall on 
the beginner's sheet. When the page was finished it was 
taken to the master for inspection. Then the unlucky 
child who had let fall a blot trembled and held back. 

" Here is a blot, you little rascal," roared the fiery 
teacher. 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 185 

" Pardon, Senor Maestro; I will do better to-morrow." 

The frown and ill temper on the master's face grew 
deeper. 

" Hold out your hand, sir," was the only answer. 

Either the blots were many, or the old soldier's temper 
was bad, for the ferule was seldom idle. A worse instru- 
ment of torture lay near the desk. It was a scourge of 
rope with iron points on the ends. Alas for the child who 
forgot himself so far as to laugh aloud, play truant, or 
spill the ink. He had to pay the penalty, were he large 
or small. He was stretched on a bench, face downwards, 
a handkerchief was tied over his mouth as a gag, and the 
hempen scourge was used until the blood ran down the 
little back. 

It is no wonder that, with such teaching as this, the 
parents as well as the children were willing to have 
the vacations longer than the terms of school. More than 
one year passed during which the children did not see the 
inside of a schoolroom, and one vacation lasted fifteen 
years. Several of the governors tried to keep the schools 
open, and to force parents to send their children, but there 
was little education until California ceased to be a Mexican 
province. Wealthy men sometimes sent their sons to 
Mexico to be educated, and the girls picked up some 
learning at home. Poor people either sent their boys to 
such schools as the one just described, or let them grow up 
without knowing how to read or write. This was one of 
the reasons why the quick-witted Americans soon had the 
advantage in all respects when they came to California. 

Life on the Spanish ranches was idle and happy. The 



1 86 Spanish California 

men did not do more than a month of really hard work in 
the whole year ; this was during the planting and harvest- 
ing of their grain. Even then the laborious manual work 
was done by Indians, who were hired from the missions 
or from the ranches of gentile Indians. It is true that 
the men were ready at any time to mount an untamed 
horse, to lasso wild cattle, or to fight a grizzly bear. But 
these were pleasures which might be enjoyed at any time. 
The Californians knew nothing of regular daily work like 
that to which Americans are accustomed. This is another 
reason why they disappeared from the land when the 
Americans came in large numbers, bringing with them 
their busy, energetic ways. 

The farming tools of the Californians were centuries 
behind those used on the Atlantic coast. For a plow, 
they used the crooked limb of an oak tree, sometimes 
tipping it with a piece of iron ; a small tree was used for 
a pole, to which oxen were harnessed by means of a board 
lashed to the horns. With this machine the ground was 
plowed, or scratched over, to receive the grain. The seed 
was scattered broadcast and harrowed in by dragging 
over it branches of trees. With even this rude cultivation 
the rich soil yielded heavy returns. 

When the grain was ready to harvest, the Indians cut 
it with sickles, and carried it on their backs to a corral to 
be thrashed. It was spread on the ground, which had 
been pounded until it was smooth and hard, and a drove 
of wild horses was let into the corral. .The straw was 
turned a few times, and the horses were driven about until 
they had trampled out the kernels ; then they were turned 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 187 

out and the straw was beaten by hand with heavy sticks 
to shake out any remaining heads, or these were rubbed 
out by the Indians in their hands. The straw was then 
taken away, leaving the grain, chaff, and broken bits of 
straw on the ground. 

The breeze was now set to work. Some windy day the 
mingled straw and grain were thrown up into the air by 




Grinding corn 



means of heavy wooden forks, the straw and chaff were 
blown away, and the grain was left ready to be ground 
into flour. The whole process was so slow and difficult 
that, although grain would grow almost wild on the hills 
and plains, flour was scarce and wheat bread was dear. 
Before the Americans came there were only the rudest 
kinds of mills in the country. The Spaniards, like the 
Indians, used a mortar and pestle for grinding out the 
grain, or rubbed it into flour on the metate. As years 



1 88 Spanisli California 

passed, a sort of mill was made by placing one heavy 
stone on top of another. The upper one was flattened a 
little, and in it was placed an iron bolt, by means of 
which a horse or mule could be fastened to the rude 
mill. The stone turned but once as the animal walked 
around, so that a day's hard work by a mule would 
result in very little flour. 

The Spaniards greatly enjoyed taking care of the im- 
mense herds of cattle. These were allowed to run wild, 
almost no attention being given them except to kill those 
needed for food. Once a year, however, according to the 
Spanish law, all the cattle were rounded up to be stamped 
with the owner's brand. This event was called a rodeo. It 
was a great occasion, when there was plenty of work but 
also endless excitement. All the men, women, and chil- 
dren of the neighborhood were present, and every man 
was obliged by law to give all the help necessary. A 
feast naturally went with a rodeo. 

The first thing was for the vaqueros, or cowboys, to 
ride over the thousands of acres that belonged to a 
rancher and drive in the cattle. There were those of 
preceding years, stamped at some earlier rodeo ; there 
were calves that were to be freshly branded ; and there 
were other animals from adjoining ranches or from some 
mission a few miles away. These straggling cattle were 
driven out separately, and as the brands were recog- 
nized, were claimed by their owners who were probably 
present. The skill of the riders and of their horses was 
shown in " bunching " or cutting out # a small band of cattle 
from the pushing, crowding, frightened mass of animals, 



Life in the Pueblos and on the Ranches 189 

and in driving them into the corral. This corral, or in- 
closure, was made of strong posts set close together, with 
a narrow opening through which the cattle were driven in, 
and out of which they raced when the branding was. at an 
end. As soon as the corral was emptied, another band 
was driven in, branded, and set free for another year. 
This was continued until all the cattle owned by any ran- 
chero had been branded. 

All these thousands of cattle were kept for the value of 
their hides and tallow, which were sold to the traders who 
occasionally came to the coast. The traders came so 
seldom, however, that the hides were worth very little 
money, from a dollar and a half to two dollars each ; con- 
sequently the large herds were not as valuable as might 
be supposed. The hides were used so frequently in pay- 
ing debts that they were called by the American sailors 
" California bank notes." 

A matanza was another busy time for the Spaniards. 
This was the butchering or killing of the cattle for their 
hides. A large corral was made into which hundreds of 
cattle were driven. The major-domo, or general manager 
of the ranch, and several vaqueros, mounted on their finest 
horses, stood near the entrance. The major-domo pointed 
out an animal that was to be killed ; a lasso thrown by a 
vaquero caught him on the horns ; a second lasso caught 
his hind feet, throwing him heavily to the ground. A 
moment more and he was killed and dragged to one side. 
Sometimes it happened that one of the animals escaped 
from the corral ; then away dashed some of the vaqueros 
after him, swinging their lassos over their heads as they 



190 Spanish California 

approached. Rarely did even a maddened bull save him- 
self from the singing lasso, but, trapped and thrown, he, 
too, was dragged to the slaughter. 

In years when little rain fell and the hills turned brown 
in the early spring, there was not enough feed for all the 
animals. Then many of the older and less valuable stock 
were killed, so that the rest might have enough to eat. 
In such cases, the hides were taken off and the carcasses 
left to rot. 

Wild-horse rodeos were frequent. The horses increased 
in number so rapidly that they ate up the grass needed 
for the more useful animals ; so rodeos were held for kill- 
ing off the poorest ones and taking home the best to be 
tamed on the ranches. 

So, with little change from year to year, time passed 
with the Spanish Californians, until the Americans came 
to the Pacific slope and moved life forward in some re- 
spects by centuries. 

Questions. — Of the three kinds of homes mentioned which was the 
first to be formed? On what did the priests lay their claim to hold so 
much good land for the missions? To what class of people were large 
estates given by the king of Spain? What other class of people came 
slowly to California? 

Where were the principal towns of Spanish California? Why was 
there such a difference between the presidio pueblos and the colonist 
pueblos ? 

Why did the luxury-loving Spaniards live in such bare houses? How 
did they manage to dress so well? How did they become such expert 
horsemen? Why did they not use more carriages? Why were they so 
old-fashioned in ranching? 

Give five or more characteristics of the Spaniards. 



CHAPTER XIX 
FOREIGNERS ON THE PACIFIC COAST 

Spain wanted no foreigners in her provinces. She had 
run a race with England and France in getting possession 
of the Pacific coast, and she was especially desirous that 
there should be no chance to take this part of her empire 
away. As early as 1794 a royal order was made prohibit- 
ing foreign vessels from stopping in California unless they 
were in distress or needed supplies. But in spite of this 
decree, a few English and American ships came, tempted 
by valuable otter skins, which were found in some parts 
of the country, especially in San Francisco Bay. 

The Americans built up a paying trade by bringing 
to California manufactured articles which were in great 
demand at the missions and ranchos, exchanging them for 
a load of otter skins which were wanted in China, and 
returning to New England loaded with the products of the 
Orient. But such trade in California was contraband and 
attended by great risks. 

In 1803 the Lelia Byrd, an American vessel, entered 
San Diego harbor. The captain said that he was in need 
of fresh water and other supplies, but the commandante 
was watchful and suspicious. The latter visited the ship 
and having satisfied himself that the supplies were needed, 

191 



192 Spanisli California 

he allowed them to be taken on board. It was soon dis- 
covered that the captain wanted some otter skins, about 
a thousand in all, which he knew were stored at the fort. 
The commandante steadily refused to take any part in 
forbidden trade, no matter how much money it might 
bring him. The captain tried the soldiers who also had 
a few otter skins. Some men were sent on shore by the 
captain the last night of his stay in the harbor, to trade with 
some of the soldiers ; they were seized by the watchful 
commandante and held as prisoners. In the morning the 
captain daringly released his men, and immediately set sail 
to escape from the harbor. The ship was fired upon from 
the fort. A blank cartridge did not frighten the Yankee ; 
a ball before the bows of his ship was unheeded ; passing 
in front of the fort, several shots damaged the sails and 
rigging, and the hull was struck above the water line. In 
return two broadsides from the vessel were fired at the fort. 

The Spanish shots did not stop the Lelia, but they did 
serve as a warning to other vessels also in the contraband 
trade. For some time San Diego was given a clear field, 
and commerce went tc the towns farther north. 

Not all the vessels which came to California were as peace- 
able as the traders. In 1816 there was great excitement all 
along the Pacific coast. The South American provinces were 
in revolt against Spain and were in the act of setting up 
republican governments of their own. Their privateers 
were on the sea looking for Spanish vessels and plunder- 
ing the colonies which had remained loyal to the mother 
country. 

Word was sent all along the California coast to be on 



Foreigners on tlie Pacific Coast 193 

the watch for Bouchard, the leader of the Buenos Ayres 
" pirates," as they were called ; but two years passed before 
his vessel sailed into Monterey harbor. Aboard of his 
two small ships were about five hundred men and sixty-six 
guns, while Governor Sola at Monterey had only fifty-five 
men and eight poor cannon with which to meet them. 
After a brave defense Monterey surrendered. The town 
was burned, only the adobe walls of the houses being left 
standing. Not finding rich plunder, Bouchard sailed south. 
The rancho del Refugio near Santa Barbara, belonging to 
the wealthy Ortega family, was visited and everything 
that would burn was set on fire. The vessels stopped at 
Santa Barbara, but under a flag of truce, to get possession 
of two prisoners who had been taken at Refugio. San 
Juan Capistrano mission was visited. Then Bouchard dis- 
appeared from the coast, disappointed in the hopes which 
had brought him to California. The province had remained 
loyal to Spain, and the pirates had found none of the 
immense treasures which they had been told were at the 
missions. One of the unfortunate results of Bouchard's 
attack was that foreigners were looked on with more 
disfavor than before, if that were possible. 

When, in 1822, Mexico declared itself free from Spain, 
there was no change in the attitude toward foreigners. 
Laws and regulations were made still more stringent in 
the effort to keep them out. Mexico was too busy in the 
various rebellions within her own boundaries to give Cal- 
ifornia anything but laws and bad government, and no one 
realized that the selfish policies against trade and foreign- 
ers were driving the province to desperation. 

SPAN. l\ SOU 1 liwi ST — 11 



194 Spanish California 

For some years the government supply vessels had not 
been fitted out by Mexico, and in order to buy anything 
not produced at home, the Californians were forced into 
contraband trade with the vessels which occasionally came 
into their harbors. Some Russians traded with the country 
around San Francisco, and even made a settlement near 
Bodega Bay ; but the people who gradually won the prin- 
cipal business with the province were the Americans. 
They studied the needs of their customers and tried to 
supply them. 

Even the officials, seeing the necessity of the province, 
were slow to enforce the laws about keeping vessels out 
of the harbors. The people had to have clothes and 
shoes to wear aside from the coarse products of the mis- 
sions. Knives and other cutlery were a necessity. Tea, 
coffee, sugar, and rice were wanted. If necessities were 
bought, such luxuries as velvets, silks, and satins, could 
not be forbidden. The Americans supplied all these goods 
at what the Californians thought reasonable prices, and 
they were welcomed on the coast. 

These conditions led to a different attitude toward 
foreigners. They were readily received in the towns, and 
from about 1823 they became a recognized part of the life 
in California. In 1823 the schooner Rover entered Mon- 
terey 'harbor, having on board the owner and captain, John 
Rogers Cooper. Cooper went directly to the governor, 
asked permission to trade, and offered to pay the duties 
on his goods. In spite of the restrictive Mexican laws, the 
governor, Arguello, thought of the needs of the people and 
consented. The Californians were delighted, and from 



Foreigners on the Pacific Coast 



195 



that time the American trade was on a basis that grew 
surer as the years passed. From 183 1- 1846 it increased 
rapidly. Large companies were formed in the Eastern 
states to trade with California. Agents were placed in the 
different cities on the coast to study the needs of the peo- 
ple, to get acquainted with the customs, and to serve the 
Eastern companies in every way possible. The vessels 




A trader in port 



which carried goods around the Horn returned loaded with 
hides, tallow, and a few furs, the only exports of the land. 
As there were no stores in California in those days, all 
goods were bought directly from the ships. In his book, 
"Two Years before the Mast," R. H. Dana, Jr., has given 
a description of the arrival of a ship at San Pedro and the 
sale of goods to the people of Los Angeles. 



1 96 Spa n ish Califom ia 

Whenever a vessel appeared there was great excitement. 
The news spread rapidly, and people from all the country 
were soon at the beach or on the way to it. Cattle were 
hurriedly driven to the shore, for the sailors, having 
eaten only salt meat for months, always made a brisk 
demand for fresh beef. Hides and tallow were brought 
in the rude, groaning ox carts. Many of the people did 
not intend returning home until their trading was done, 
and so at night camp fires lighted up the shore, and by 
day the plain was alive with horsemen galloping in all 
directions according to the pleasure or business of the 
moment. 

On board ship the decks had been cleared and an office 
opened, so that the goods could be shown to better advan- 
tage. Men, women, and children crowded the decks to 
get a look at the coveted articles. The boys and young 
men wanted knives ; the girls were on the lookout for 
satin ribbons ; the Indians bought handkerchiefs and 
beads ; the older members of the family laid in a supply 
of clothing, shoes, rice, sugar, to last until the coming of 
another ship, perhaps months later. 

The American merchants had studied the trade care- 
fully and knew just what kind of goods would be bought 
by the Californians. There were cotton cloths, velvets, 
silks, shoes, and rich clothing for men and women. There 
were brandies, wines, tea, rice, sugar, in large quantities. 
So shiftless were the Spaniards, and so dependent had 
they become on the "Yankee trader," that, as Dana says, 
"They had grapes and paid high prices for Boston wines. 
They had hides and paid exorbitantly for shoes that had 



Foreigners on the Pacific Coast 197 

been made out of California leather that had been twice 
around the Horn." 

The Spaniards had little curiosity about the country 
around them. They seemed to think that the great country 
to the east was impassable, and that the only way for the 
Americans to reach California was by water. Conse- 
quently, they were amazed when, one day in 1826, there / 
came from the east to San Gabriel mission a party of 
Americans. 

The story of their appearance was really very simple. 
Jedediah S. Smith was the leader of about fifteen trappers 
with whom he was hunting in the Rocky 
Mountains. He had come from his head- 
quarters at Salt Lake, and had struck the 
old Santa Fe trail at a time when he was 
nearly dying of thirst and hunger in the 
deserts. As he was nearer San Gabriel 
than Salt Lake, he made his way 
thither, guided by an Indian. He was 
not very well received. This was a new 
kind of an American. He did not intend 
staying in California, he had not come to 
trade, and he was accompanied by a band 
of savage-looking, well-armed men. Alto- 
gether the party was so unwelcome to the 
Mexican officials that the governor ordered 

Smith to hurry on out of the province. An American 

trapper 
This was not so easy as it seemed to the 

Californians. It was more than a year before Smith could 

get together the supplies needed to continue his trapping 




198 Spanish California 

expedition. Long before that time had passed, the patience 
of the Californians was exhausted and their fears awak- 
ened. At last they would not wait for Smith to complete 
his arrangements, but forced him out of the country alone, 
leaving behind his faithful companions. The leader was 
probably killed by the Indians, for he was not heard of 
afterwards, and in his unprotected state he would have 
fallen an easy prey to the savages. 

Such treatment of Smith and similar usage that was 
given other parties of Americans who came overland into 
California could not keep out the pioneers. Smith, the 
first in that great army, has been called the " Pathfinder of 
the Sierras." Other hunters and trappers like him con- 
tinued to open the way. They were followed by traders 
through New Mexico over the old Santa Fe trail. Later, 
came families in the great covered wagons, or prairie 
schooners as they were called, in ever increasing numbers, 
until there was reason for the fear that Americans would 
get possession of the country by simple weight of popula- 
tion. 

Once in California, the foreigners took a leading part in 
all the business of the province. They made themselves 
respected and even feared, until they could no longer be 
treated like Jedediah S. Smith. In the revolutions that 
were of such frequent occurrence from 1830 to 1846, both 
sides were eager to have the assistance of the Americans, 
who were skilled marksmen, quick-witted in all arrange- 
ments and cool and determined in all their plans. 

Many of the men who came during these years mar- 
ried Spanish girls. Some of them obtained large tracts 



Foreigners on the Pacific Coast 199 

of land from the Mexican government. Occasionally a 
name was changed from its original language into Span- 
ish, as Robert Livermore became Juan Bautista Roberto 
Livermore. These men passed almost completely into 
the easy-going life around them. 

The Americans, Englishmen, Scotchmen, were better 
business managers than the Californians. The latter 
despised business, and the only work that they would do 
was on their great ranches. All the trade of the coun- 
try, therefore, passed into the hands of the foreigners. 
As there was plenty of money to be made in it, many 
became very wealthy, winning for themselves by their 
enterprise a place in the business and social life around 
them. 

The California women looked favorably on the for- 
eigners, who usually made more desirable husbands than 
the indolent Spaniards. They were better managers of 
property, did more of the hard work themselves instead 
of leaving it to the women, were kinder to their wives 
and families. As a result, it was not difficult for the 
agreeable men among them to find wives among the 
daughters of the best Spanish families. In the course 
of years the younger Spaniards grew jealous of their 
dangerous rivals in love and in business, and would 
gladly have turned them out of the country ; but by the 
time that this feeling made itself known the foreigners 
were too strong to be driven out, and too necessary to 
be spared. 

It must not be supposed that all the Americans who 
came were desirable people. Many were dissipated, some 



200 Spanish California 

were dishonest and quarrelsome. But all brought among 
the Spaniards a new spirit, that of restlessness and 
of the energy which the Spaniards had never liked nor 
possessed. They were face to face with all the traits 
of the Anglo-Saxon which had led him to conquer the 
Indians and the wilderness on the Atlantic coast. With- 
out fully realizing all the danger to themselves and to their 
quiet, idyllic life, the Spaniards were troubled and uncer- 
tain about the future. Well they might be, for not twenty- 
five years after they had forced Smith out of their country 
the whole coast was to pass, into the hands of the men who 
followed him over the snowy crests of the Sierras. 

Questions. — What reason did Spain have for wishing foreigners to 
keep away from her American provinces? What was the long voyage 
taken by the first American ships that came to California ports to trade? 
Why did trading vessels get into trouble with the Spanish officials? 
What two reasons brought pirate vessels to the Pacific coast? Why 
did such vessels go to the Pacific rather than to the Atlantic coast? 
Why were the Californians glad to have trading vessels visit their 
ports? Why did the officials object? 

Why was Jedediah S. Smith hunted out of California? What does 
this show about the feelings of Spanish officials toward Americans? By 
what two routes were Americans now coming into California? What 
kind of people came each way? Which class of immigrants seemed 
most dangerous to the Californians? Why? Which entered most 
easily into Californian life? What danger was there to the Spanish 
life in California from the presence of Americans? 



CHAPTER XX 

SPANISH GOVERNORS OF CALIFORNIA 

A Spanish province was governed by a royal governor 
sent out from Spain or, in the case of the North American 
provinces, from Mexico. He might be chosen because of 
his fitness for the high position ; or because he had been 
an officer in the army and was to be rewarded for his 
services to his country ; or, perhaps, because he was a 
man who had become disagreeable, or dangerous to the 
home government, and while he was too powerful to be 
offended, he was to be buried, as it were, for a time in 
some distant land. A governor was an almost absolute 
ruler in his little kingdom, for he always had at hand a 
number of soldiers to do his bidding. The soldiers were 
under a leader, called a commandante, but the comman- 
dante usually obeyed the orders of the governor. 

Gaspar de Portola was the first governor of the Cali- 
fornias. It. will be remembered that he had charge of 
the second land expedition to San Diego, when the 
priests started out to establish the missions in 1769. 
There is but little recorded about Governor Portola, but 
that little is so kindly and cheery that we feel disap- 
pointed in not knowing him better. His life reminds us 
of one of the proverbs in history, that those years are 

201 



202 Spanish California 

happiest about which the least is said. History has for 
him no long memorials, but while he was in California 
there were no quarrels, no hard feelings, no jealousies, 
worth mentioning. Matters moved along quietly and 
always toward the goal for which the government and 
the church were striving. When Portola left, troubles 
began. Surely he must have harmonized men and affairs, 
or the years would not have been so peaceful. 

The next important governor was the seventh He was 
Diego de Borica, who arrived in the province in 1793. 
His is a name over which one likes to linger. Descended 
from an old, aristocratic Spanish family, he never lost the 
courteous manner, the high chivalry, the refined daily life, 
which were his by inheritance and education. He pos- 
sessed also a remarkable capacity for hard work ; a broad, 
just mind ; and a sympathetic understanding of the coun- 
tries in which he lived and worked. It was one of the 
blessings for early California that for five years Diego 
de Borica was its governor. 

When news of his appointment came, Borica broke off 
regretfully his pleasant connections with scholarly friends 
in Mexico, to take up the duties of a distant post. One of 
the first persons met in the new surroundings at Monterey 
was Vancouver, the English explorer, and an enjoyable 
acquaintance for both men followed. Nevertheless, since 
Borica felt obliged to obey the orders which he had 
brought with him from Mexico, to exclude all foreigners 
from the province, Vancouver soon felt it wiser to leave ; 
but it was with regret both on his part and on that of the 
genial governor that they bade each other good-by. 



Spanish Governors of California 203 

Borica soon turned his attention to the condition of the 
neophytes at the missions. His arrival was just about the 
time that the fatherly care of the early years was chang- 
ing into the harshness of later times. It was a delicate 
task, but he succeeded so well in it that the severe flog- 
gings ceased, and food and clothing for the Indians were 
made better. At the same time he kept on good terms 
with the missionaries. Had the following governors been 
as able as he, the end of the mission history would have 
been very different. 

Governor Borica was greatly annoyed by the character 
of the colonists sent out by Mexico. He found them a 
lazy, good-for-nothing, poverty-stricken class. First of all 
he struggled with their drunkenness, which was increasing 
fast, as more wines and brandies were made in the prov- 
ince. Then he took up the still more difficult task of 
making the men work instead of leading such lazy lives ; 
for Borica looked with despair on the fairest land in the 
world, overrun with weeds or left wild as nature had made 
it, while men, women, and children slept, drank, or gam- 
bled away their days and nights, content in their rags and 
miserable huts. Borica wrote to Mexico that such laziness 
was "a sin against God, the king, and the government," 
and that it " should for the future be punished by fines 
and forfeitures." He was as good as his word, and the 
knowledge that he was in earnest forced the settlers to 
harder work. 

The next vice attacked by the governor was gambling, 
and here again, by severe punishments, he succeeded in 
checking if not in preventing a great waste of time and 



204 Spanish California 

money. He also insisted that parents should send their 
children to school, and for a time the teachers in California 
were kept busier than ever before or for a long time after- 
ward. He ordered fortifications for the cove and valley 
known as Yerba Buena, to the south of what is now Tele- 
graph Hill in San Francisco. So to Governor Borica may 
be traced the beginnings of that part of the present city. 

It was the struggle of one man with many. The people 
obeyed only while held by a strong hand. They loved 
their fleshpots of Egypt; and when, in 1800, Borica left 
California, old customs and vices were quickly restored. 

The next twenty years were marked in Mexico and 
South America by revolutions against Spain, and the set- 
ting up of democratic governments. California had little 
interest in the new ideas ; she remained loyal to Spain and 
to the thought of a monarchy. The governor who came 
to the province in 181 5 was Pablo Vicente de Sola. He 
was a royalist, and had been educated in the schools of 
Spain. All Calif ornians looked forward with the greatest 
enthusiasm to his coming, for he represented their own 
ideas on the questions of the day, — loyalty to the king of 
Spain, dislike for democratic institutions. 

On the evening after his arrival the gray old adobe 
presidio was made beautiful with festoons of evergreens 
among which twinkled a multitude of lights ; each was as 
quaint as an old Roman lamp, — a basin of suet in which 
floated a cotton wick, smoking and sputtering as it blazed. 
The next morning there was a solemn, ceremonious mass 
at the presidio church, accompanied by discharges of 
musketry in the courtyard and the boom of cannon. 



Spanisli Governors of California 



205 



After mass came a parade by the soldiers, and an address 
by Governor Sola, followed by a banquet prepared by the 
ladies of Monterey. In the afternoon came the inevitable 
bullfight, and the day was concluded with a grand ball, 
finer than anything before attempted in California. 

The festivities were not yet at an end. The next day 
was spent at San Carlos mission. There the interest of 




Old adobe house with modern roof 

the governor was excited by the California side of the 
entertainment. The fathers had arranged a mimic battle 
among the Indians, who were adorned with feathers and 
fought with their savage weapons. Sola watched with 
closest attention, and then, the ceremonies of the inaugu- 
ration being over, he returned to Monterey to take up the 
duties of governor. 

He was in California when the pirates of Buenos Ayres 
visited the coast, and he was the governor who witnessed 



2o6 Spanish California 

the reception of the news that Mexico had declared herself 
free from Spain. Although he was known to be a royal- 
ist, and California was in sympathy with him, everybody 
thought it best to accept quietly the change in Mexico. 
The province was benefited a little by the new govern- 
ment, for an assembly, or deputation, was formed in Cali- 
fornia, and representatives were sent to the Mexican 
congress. 

One of the greatest advantages of Sola's life among the 
Californians came to them indirectly. He was very fond 
of children, and as he was a well-educated man himself, 
he wished to see the boys enjoying the privileges of good 
instruction. Finding the schools closed throughout the 
province, he caused them to be opened. He frequently 
visited the one at Monterey, and there he became inter- 
ested in the boys of the pueblo. Among them were three 
who were of importance in the later history of California. 
They were Juan Bautista Alvarado, Mariano Guadalupe 
Vallejo, and Jose Castro. He found these three bright 
minds cramped over writing lessons from straight lines to 
words; over reading lessons often taken from old letters 
or exercises written by the teacher ; and over the doctrina 
of the church. He introduced them to his own library; he 
put into their hands masterpieces of Spanish literature ; 
he gave them portions of the Spanish constitution to read. 
In short, he opened to them what had been closed to 
almost every boy of California up to that time, — the world 
of life and letters. Alvarado responded most eagerly to 
this treatment, and of him we shall have more to say at the 
proper time. 



Spanish Governors of California 20/ 

The spirit of self-government was rising in California. 
It was seen in frequent rebellions against tyrannical gov- 
ernors. None of them caused much loss of life, but they 
showed that the Californians would no longer endure 
unjust treatment. 

In 1829, while Echeandia x was governor, there was a 
revolt of the troops, led by Solis, a desperate convict who 
had been sent from Mexico, and by Herrera, a Mexican 
politician scheming for greater power. 

Victoria, the governor who succeeded Echeandia, met 
with greater difficulty, for it came from the better class of 
citizens. He was so self-willed and violent tempered that 
he intended to rule without any regard to the privileges 
recently granted by Mexico. Determined not to lose their 
rights so soon, some of the young men in San Diego 
under the lead of Pio Pico rose against the governor. 
They were soon joined by others in Los Angeles and 
Santa Barbara, and two hundred men stood ready for the 
defense of their local government. So ignorant was Vic- 
toria of the real feeling against him, and so unwilling was 
he to take advice, that he marched against his opponents 
with only thirty men. Near Los Angeles a typical Cali- 
fornia battle was fought, in which, at the first sight of 
bloodshed, the soldiers on one side fled and those on the 
other deserted. Victoria was left in possession of the 
field, but he was holding it almost alone. With one or 
two exceptions, his thirty soldiers had gone over to the 
enemy, old comrades of theirs. lie was badly wounded 
and was glad to agree to leave California. 
1 Echeandia (A-cha-an'-de-a). 



208 Spanish California 

Three governors at the same time vexed the province 
after the departure of Victoria, one of whom was Pio Pico, 
chosen by the assembly to act until the appointment of 
a new governor by Mexico. The three-cornered quarrel 
which threatened to plunge California into civil war again, 
was ended when Mexico named Jose Figueroa 1 as the 
next regular governor. 

Figueroa is one of the well-known names in the history 
of California. The most important question of his time 
was the secularization of the missions. Part Aztec, as his 
build and color showed, he had a deep sympathy with the 
Indians, and understood better than any other governor 
the danger of giving them their full liberty before they 
were ready for it. He tried forming Indian pueblos in 
small ways with some of the more advanced neophytes ; 
the results were highly satisfactory. But in the midst of 
his efforts came the order, in 1834, for the immediate 
secularization of all the missions, and Figueroa saw his 
work frustrated before it was fairly begun. 

The next regular governor was Chico. The treatment 
which he gave the province called out again the spirit of 
rebellion which had slept during the time of Figueroa. 
Chico was a man of vicious, uncontrolled temper which 
often threw him into fits almost apoplectic in their vio- 
lence. He declared himself the friend of Victoria, and 
boasted that he would punish every man who had taken 
part in expelling him from the province. This roused 
against him the young men who had been active in that 
affair. He took vigorous measures against foreign trade, 

1 Jose Figueroa (Ho-za' Fe-ga-ro'a). 



Spanish Governors of California 209 

and ordered that every foreigner in the province should 
appear before an alcalde and justify his presence in^the 
country, or be condemned to eight days in irons on the 
public works. These acts did not tend to make friends of 
the large number of foreigners by that time in California. 
In fact, Chico seemed to succeed in only one thing, — in 
arraying against himself every important class of people in 
the land. He proved to be so unfit for his high office that 
one morning, after he had indulged in an unusually bad 
attack of temper the night before, the men of Monterey 
armed themselves and surrounded his house. 

Chico was thoroughly frightened. Hittell compares 
him to a wild beast in its cage, unable to do any more harm, 
but so ugly and resentful that none dared brave his fury. 
But Chico knew, at least, when he was beaten, and he did 
not care to trust himself any longer to the men of Monte- 
rey. He gladly consented to return to Mexico, and Cali- 
fornia was free from another tyrant. 

After Chico's departure, the man who acted as governor 
until a regular appointment could be made from Mexico 
was Gutierrez. 1 He knew, however, that California was 
on the highway to rebellion against the careless and un- 
sympathetic rule of Mexico, and he realized that at that 
very moment the actual power was in the hands of Jose 
Castro and Alvarado, ably supported by the political 
sympathy and military training of Yallejo. 

Alvarado was the real leader in the new world of 
thought which was opening slowly to California. He 
had become acquainted with books through the kind- 
1 Gutierrez (Go-te-ar'retb). 

SPAN. [N 5( HI KWES1 — 14 



2IO 



Spanish California 



ness of Sola ; by some means he had met with writings 
on the life and work of George Washington, whose 
heroism became his model. He was active in public 
affairs, holding the important office of secretary in 
the territorial assembly when only eighteen years old. 

When Chico was forced to leave for Mexico, Alvarado 
held a position in the custom house at Monterey. Gutier- 
rez soon made the mis- 
take of accusing him of 
dishonesty in his ac- 
counts. Alvarado, who 
was probably the ablest 
man in California, would 
brook no such accusa- 
tion from a Mexican 
governor. He withdrew 
from the custom house 
and visited some of the leading Californians in the north. 
He said that in his opinion the time had come to declare 
independence from Mexico. Vallejo hesitated, but many 
were ready, indeed were only waiting for a signal, to revolt. 
Alvarado's word was the signal, and, as he returned to 
Monterey, he was joined by nearly all the men on the route. 
Gutierrez had no chance for escape. He called together 
the few soldiers who were willing to fight for him and for 
Mexico, and took refuge in the presidio. Alvarado was by 
this time at the head of the only really effective force in the 
country, but even that was so small that he had no desire 
to lay siege to so strong a building. He thought, however, 
that he might frighten Gutierrez out of his stronghold by 




Old custom house at Monterey 



Spanish Governors of California 2 1 1 

deceiving him as to the number of men by whom he was 
surrounded. Alvarado marched different bodies of troops 
from place to place as if he were making the best arrange- 
ment of many soldiers. Gutierrez, watching from the pre- 
sidio, was completely misled ; but he was not willing to 
yield without a struggle. 

At eight o'clock, November 6, 1836, Alvarado sent word 
to Gutierrez that unless the presidio were immediately sur- 
rendered he would make an attack. There was no reply. 
At ten o'clock another notice was sent. No reply. At 
twelve, Gutierrez was notified that Alvarado's patience was 
exhausted, and that if the presidio were not delivered into 
his hands without further delay he would wait no longer 
than three before attacking. Alvarado, in spite of his 
threats, was still determined to win by strategy, for he had 
no desire to throw his untrained men against the adobe 
walls of the presidio, in close range of the few soldiers 
within. He felt sure that Gutierrez had seen the disposi- 
tion of the troops, and that he would surrender if suffi- 
ciently frightened ; but he was also convinced that the 
governor was not to be driven out of his safe quarters 
without a show of force. 

The revolutionists looked around for ammunition for the 
cannon ; but when Gutierrez took refuge in the presidio 
he carried with him, as he thought, everything of the kind. 
He really left behind only one cannon ball. This was 
found by Alvarado's men ; enough powder for one charge 
was gotten together by emptying out musket cartridges, and 
the attacking party was ready to try the effect of a shot. 
The single ball was so well aimed that it crashed through 



212 Spanish California 

the roof of Gutierrez's house, throwing the governor into 
such a fright that he made haste to surrender before another 
one had time to follow. Feeling sure that the insurgents 
were well armed and in earnest about attacking him, he 
consented to leave the country. A few days later he went 
on board the same vessel that had taken Chico to Mexico, 
and sailed for the south. 

California was now in the hands of her own sons, and they 
had no intention of doing her harm ; but they were deter- 
mined that Mexico should no longer burden her with 
offensive laws and oppressive officials. In the course of 
a month, independence from Mexico had been declared, 
a new government had been put into working order, and, 
with that happy faculty of the Californians of passing 
through revolutions unharmed, not a drop of blood had 
been shed. But peace had not yet settled on the land. 

The new government went into effect with Alvarado as 
governor, Vallejo as colonel, and Castro as lieutenant 
colonel. All parts of California were fairly well satisfied 
with the change, but trouble soon appeared on the south- 
ern horizon. Mexico, refusing to recognize the new gov- 
ernment, appointed as governor a Californian named 
Carillo, and called on all loyal citizens to support him. 
As Carillo had many friends and relatives in southern 
California, civil war was unavoidable. 

This time blood was shed in a battle at San Buenaven- 
tura, one man being killed on the side of the revolutionists. 
Hostilities began in January, 1837, the first battle was 
fought in March, and in May Alvarado announced that 
the war was at an end, victory being with the Californians. 



Spanish Governors of California 213 

During the two months of warfare Alvarado's ideas 
had undergone a change. He had entered into the strug- 
gle with Gutierrez with the thought that he might bring 
to California a little of the freedom that his hero, George 
Washington, had brought to the colonies on the Atlantic. 
But he soon realized that his countrymen were very dif- 
ferent from the Americans in the matter of self-govern- 
ment, and that their wiser course was to remain under the 
general government of Mexico, insisting, however, on 
their right to control their own affairs. After coming to 
such a conclusion, he had too much common sense to 
fight longer for independence ; so, as soon as the war with 
Carillo w r as ended, he sent a messenger to Mexico to say 
that he was willing to return California to her allegiance. 
Only too glad to have the trouble settled without further 
effort on her part, Mexico took the wisest course possible. 
Alvarado, who was acceptable to all, was appointed 
regular governor, and as he easily induced the citizens 
to return to their loyalty to Mexico, no more notice was 
taken of the la.te rebellion. 

During the six years that Alvarado acted as governor 
his people passed through many changes. They wakened 
to new ideas politically, with Alvarado a safe guide in 
them all. Aside from the growing interest in self-govern- 
ment, and in independence from Mexico, the principal 
question was the ever increasing number of Americans 
pouring into the state. Men of excellent character and 
fine business ability made the Pacific coast their home, 
but it was natural that the Californians should look with 
suspicion and anxiety on these additions to their popula- 



2 14 Spanish California 

tion. 1 The newcomers were ranchers or merchants ; for 
although gold was found in 1842, at San Francisquito, 
about thirty-five miles northwest of Los Angeles, the yield 
was small and caused little excitement. 

In 1842 Alvarado was made to feel the uncertainties of 
a public position. Mexico appointed a governor, a stranger 
to California, to take his place. It was a somewhat bitter 
drop in Alvarado's life, but he accepted it without com- 
plaint. The enforced withdrawal from office was made 
easier by the fact that he was in poor health, and needed 
rest from the heavy cares under which he had been labor- 
ing. But he did not give up his hope of still serving his 
country. 

The new governor was Manuel Micheltorena. He came 
to California with instructions to stop the influx of Ameri- 
cans ; for Mexico saw in every fresh arrival a reason for 
believing that the United States was planning to take 
California by force. To aid the new governor in his task, 
about three hundred and fifty men were sent with him to 
do duty as soldiers. But such soldiers ! .Every civilized 
country must have shrunk from them with disgust and 
loathing. Their very appearance was enough to turn all 
respectable people from the government which had sent 
them to the decent Americans whom they had come to 
drive out. They were men gathered up here and there, as 
Micheltorena passed from the city of Mexico to the sea, 

1 Among those who came were such well-known names as William A. Rich- 
ardson, Daniel Hill, David Spence, Henry D. Fitch, George C. Yount, Abel 
Stearns, Alfred Robinson, John J. Warner, Thomas (). Larkin, Hugo Reid, 
Jacob P. Leese, Dr. Marsh, Peter Lassen, and John Sutter. 



Spanish Governors of California 215 

and were generally taken from prisons where they were 
serving sentences for crimes. In some of the towns 
through which they passed officials gave orders that they 
should be kept from any contact with the people. They 
were filthy to a degree unusual even for men of their 
class ; they were so ragged that respect for decency made 
some of the cities clothe them before allowing them on the 
streets. Many of them made no pretense at clothing, but 
wrapped themselves in rags of blankets. Some of these 
so-called " soldiers " were accompanied by their families, 
who were even worse off than the men, more ragged, 
more filthy, more objectionable to the eye. No property 
was safe while they were around ; anything that could be 
eaten, worn, or carried off, was stolen. 

With their entry into Monterey, a reign of terror began. 
One of their assaults was on the captain of a French 
vessel lying in the harbor ; he was robbed and so brutally 
treated that he declared he would bring in the rest of the 
French fleet and batter the town about their ears if Michel- 
torena did not make amends for the insult. This checked 
their excesses for a moment, as it were, but the people of 
Monterey were finally forced to free themselves from the 
nightmare of their presence. 

When Micheltorena first arrived in California he re- 
mained for some time in Los Angeles, even taking the 
oath of office in that city. The reason for this neglect of 
the capital was that a most remarkable event was taking 
place there. On the afternoon of October 19, 1842, the 
United States sloop of war Cyane sailed into the harbor of 
Monterey and dropped her anchor in front of the town. 



2l6 



Spanish California 



On board were about eight hundred men, thoroughly armed, 
under Commodore Thomas Catesby Ap Jones. Before 
night came, Commodore Jones sent a message to Alvarado, 
who was still in charge of affairs while awaiting the arrival 
of the new governor. In his communication Commodore 





,^:^j!Mk»^^ 



Old jail at Monterey 



Jones stated briefly that war had broken out between 
Mexico and the United States, and that, as an officer in 
the navy of the latter, he proposed to take possession of 
Monterey. He gave Alvarado his choice of surrendering 
quietly but immediately, or of seeing the town bombarded. 
The decision must be made by the following day. 



Spanish Governors of California 217 

What could Alvarado do ? The trim sloop-of-war, 
ready for battle, lay in front of the town ; her eight hun- 
dred men were an overwhelming force. Alvarado was 
without soldiers, and his authority as governor had re- 
cently passed into other hands. That night a horseman 
started to meet Micheltorena, bearing him the astounding 
news. The next day, without resistance, four hundred 
Americans were landed and marched to the fort. The 
Mexican flag w r as hauled down, and the stars and stripes 
were raised. Monterey was in the hands of the United 
States. 

Micheltorena was met by Alvarado' s messenger about 
thirty miles north of Los Angeles. The governor listened 
in surprise to the news he brought ; then, as he had no 
desire to meet the enemy, he turned back to the safety of 
Los Angeles, and issued proclamations against the " mis- 
erable Americans." 

Tangled affairs straightened themselves out most unex- 
pectedly. Commodore Jones learned that he had been 
misinformed. There was no war; he had no right in 
Monterey; the stars and stripes must give way to the 
Mexican flag. It was a very awkward predicament, but 
Commodore Jones was equal to meeting it readily and 
courteously. He ordered down the American flag, apolo- 
gized to the Mexican officials, and withdrew his men to 
the Cyanc. A little later he went to Los Angeles to 
apologize personally to Micheltorena and to explain his 
mistake. 

Now that the danger was over, Micheltorena was very 
jealous of his rights. He demanded that the American 



218 Spa nisi i California 

ship should salute the Mexican flag. Commodore Jones 
agreed. The governor demanded fifty suits of uniform, a 
number of musical instruments, and $15,000 to pay for the 
losses caused, which, however, existed only in the govern- 
or's fancy. Commodore Jones must have smiled to him- 
self at the absurdity of the demands ; but to Micheltorena 
he said quietly that he could pay no claims, for that was 
a matter to be settled between Mexico and the United 
States. The salute was given at San Pedro the next day, 
as a willing apology by Commodore Jones for his mistake. 
His information as to the breaking out of w T ar had been 
wrong, but it was a prophecy to the Californians of what 
was to take place four years later. 

The tyranny of Micheltorena and the crimes committed 
by his soldiers soon roused the people of Monterey to 
action. Alvarado was called from his rancho to be their 
leader. He went to Vallejo and Castro for help. Vallejo 
hesitated, preferring to wait until they could be surer of 
success ; but Castro, as ever, was ready to take an active 
part in driving out an unwelcome governor. A few troops 
were quickly collected and a proclamation made, declaring 
that the revolution was for the best interests of all the peo- 
ple, and calling on loyal Californians for assistance against 
a tyrant. 

Since neither side was prepared for war, a peace was 
patched up. Its most important provisions were that 
Micheltorena should send his thievish troops back to 
Mexico within three months, and their officers with them, 
and that no one should be punished for the part taken in 
the troubles. 



Spanisli Governors of California 219 

Micheltorena was not the man to keep his word. He 
fretted under the feeling that Alvarado was watching his 
administration and ready to check excesses. In a few 
weeks he was planning new moves against the revolution- 
ists. Knowing that powerful help was needed, he sent to 
Captain Sutter, asking that he bring in secretly a company 
of armed foreigners, who should be paid for their services 
by grants of land. Sutter consented, and formed a com- 
pany which was willing to help fight the governor's 
battles. 

Cleverly as Micheltorena had covered his treachery, 
completely as he had deceived Castro, Alvarado was on 
the alert. The double dealing was discovered, but too 
late to take any steps against it at San Jose, where the 
two leaders were staying. They hurried to Los Angeles, 
where they and their cause were well received. A meet- 
ing of the assembly was called, Micheltorena was deposed, 
and Pio Pico, the next highest officer in the province, was 
declared governor by right of succession. 

Micheltorena was furious. He hastened his own and 
Sutter's troops south after the revolutionists. At Ca- 
huenga, near San Fernando, the two forces met. The 
familiar farce of a bloodless battle was reacted. The 
artillery on both sides opened fire, killing one horse for 
the revolutionists. Alvarado's men responded to the 
encouragement of their leader and dashed toward the 
enemy. That was enough. The break came on the other 
side. Sutter began to feel that as a foreigner he was in a 
ticklish position; Micheltorena thought of his evil govern- 
ment and expected to be made the target of all the enemy's 



220 Spanish California 

bullets. Both men concluded that they had seen war 
enough for that time. Sutter waved a white cloth ener- 
getically toward Alvarado ; Micheltorena fluttered another 
frantically in the direction of Castro and his advancing 
troops. 

Again peace was made, but this time there was to be no 
chance of treachery. Micheltorena and his men were to 
march to San Pedro, embark on a vessel, go to Monterey 
for the family of Micheltorena and the rest of the troops, 
and then the whole party was to sail immediately to Mexico. 
On second thought another provision was added to the 
terms of peace. Micheltorena demanded and obtained 
permission for his troops to march to San Pedro with 
flags flying and drums beating, and they were to be 
saluted by the soldiers of Alvarado and Castro. The 
whole programme was carried out. Micheltorena felt that 
he left the country without disgrace, and the Calif ornians 
were glad to be freed of him and his men at so small a cost. 

Sutter did not escape so easily. He found himself in 
the disagreeable position of a prisoner. He was taken 
to Los Angeles, where he was allowed several days for 
reflection. At the end of that time he made explanation 
of his conduct. He had supposed, he said, that he was 
supporting the regular government of the province, and 
that it was his duty to give aid to the governor if called 
on for it. Alvarado and Castro could not afford to make 
an enemy of so powerful a man. Sutter was allowed to 
return to his fort near Sacramento, where he was of great 
assistance in keeping the Indians from dangerous out- 
breaks. 



Spanish Governors of California 221 

The last revolution of Spanish California against its 
Mexican governors was over ; the next great encounter 
was with the Americans, with w r hom battles were serious 
affairs. 

The departure of Micheltorena for the south left Pio 
Pico temporary governor, in which position he was soon 
confirmed by Mexico. In times of peace he might have 
proved an able governor, but California knew no peace 
during his short administration. Soon after his appoint- 
ment the history of the missions was ended by the decree 
of 1845, already mentioned, by which the land once owned 
by them was sold or rented. 

Pico did not prove himself strong enough to hold together 
the different parts of his country. He and Castro were 
soon quarreling, and their differences weakened the whole 
province. In 1846 Captain John C. Fremont with sixty 
armed men from the United States approached Monterey. 
Castro ordered" them out of California. Fremont defiantly 
went into camp and raised the American flag ; but he soon 
thought better of his position and continued his government 
explorations toward Oregon. In a rage at what he con- 
sidered a hostile invasion of the country, Castro issued a 
fiery proclamation. He called Fremont's party a band of 
highwaymen ; he was furious that the American flag had 
been raised again on Californian soil ; and he looked at 
the presence of such a body of armed men as an insult to 
Californians and a menace to their rights as Mexican sub- 
jects. He wrote again and again to Pico, urging him to 
send soldiers, to come himself, to take any steps, to drive 
so dangerous an enemy from the province. 



222 Spanish California 

Pico took little notice of what was going on in the nof th 
He was dazed by the disorganization everywhere. War 
between the United States and Mexico over the annexa- 
tion of Texas was looked for at any time, and it was ex- 
pected that one of the first movements of the Americans 
would be to seize California. This fear paralyzed all ef- 
forts to bring order to home affairs. To add to the uncer- 
tainties at which the perplexed Pico was helplessly staring, 
Castro sent word that Fremont was about to return fi;om 
Oregon into the Sacramento valley. Vallejo reported a 
current rumor that two thousand American families were 
on the way west, and would cross the mountains about 
July. The assembly, which should have been ready with 
advice and assistance, was unable to do anything. The 
governor was left to meet the tide of dangers alone. Cal- 
ifornia was facing a new problem, one that might well 
have puzzled far more experienced statesmen than any 
who had grown up on the Pacific slope. 

Then came the alarming news that Sonoma had been 
seized by Americans; that Vallejo and three other promi- 
nent men had been made prisoners ; and that a strange 
flag was floating over the place. It was the banner of 
the " bear-flag " republic. The American colors were 
soon to take its place. 

Questions. — Did Spain choose governors for the provinces because 
of their fitness for such positions? Did her plan result in any able gov- 
ernors? Were there any weak ones? What difficult problems met 
those who really wished to help California? What caused the frequent 
revolutions in California? 



PRINCIPAL BOOKS CONSULTED 

Auger: Voyage en Californie. 

Blackmar, F. W. : Spanish Institutions of the Southwest. Spanish 
Colonization in the Southwest. (Johns Hopkins University Stud- 
ies. Number 8.) 

Bancroft, Hubert Howe : History of California. 

Bandelier : Articles in the Archaeological Institute of America. 

Barnes, Mary Sheldon : Some Primitive Californians, Popular Science 
Monthly, 1 896-1 897. 

Bidwell, John: Articles in the Century* XIX; also in the Californian. 

Boscana, Father Geronimo : Historical Account of the Indians of Cali- 
fornia. (Appendix in Robinson's Life in California.) 

Cabrillo, Juan : Diary. 

Chamisso, Adelbert von: Reise urn die Welt. 1815-1818. 

Cheever, E. E. : On California Indians, American Naturalist, IV. 

Coronado : Letter to Mendoza, Old South Leaflets. 

Cortes : Letter to Charles V. 

Coues : On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer, translation of the diary of 
Francisco Garces. 

Gushing, Frank Hamilton : Articles in the Ethnological Journal. 

Dana, Jr., R. H. : Two Years before the Mast. 

Davis : Sixty Years in California. 

Davis, W. H. H. : Spanish Conquest of New Mexico. 

Dellenbaugh, F. S. : The True Route of Coronado's March (in the 
Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York. XX). 

Diaz del Castillo, Bernal : Mexico, the True History of its Conquest. 

Doyle, John T. : The Missions of Alta California, Century. XIX. 

Fletcher, Master Francis: The World Encompassed by Sir Francis 
Drake (in the publications by the Hakluyt Society). 

Hale, E. E. The Name of California. Historical Magazine, VI. 

Hart, Albert Bushnell : American History told by Contemporary 

■ Henshaw, H. W. : Missions and Mission Indians of California, Popular 
Science Monthly. XXXIX. 

Hittell, Theodore H. : History of California. 

Hodge, Frederick Webb: Articles in the American .Anthropologist. 

Hughes: California of the Padres. 

223 



224 Principal Books Consulted 

Kotzebue, Otto von : A New Voyage round the World in the Years 
1823-1826. 

Ladd, H. 0. : History of New Mexico (in the Story of the States Series) . 

Langsdorff, G. H. von: Reise um die Welt, 1 803-1 804. 

Lummis, Charles F. : The Land of Poco Tiempo. The Spanish 
Pioneers. 

Manuelo: California 350 Years Ago. 

Mindeleff, Cosmos : On Ruins and Inhabited Villages of Cibola (Annual 
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology). 

Mofras, Duflot de : Exploration du Territoire de POregon, des Cali- 
fornies, et de la Mer Vermeille. 

Morgan, Lewis H. : The Seven Cities of Cibola, North American 
Review, 1869. Homes of the Aborigines. 

Palou, Father : Life of Father Serra. 

Prescott : Conquest of Mexico. 

Perouse, J. F. G. de la : A Voyage round the World in 1 785-1 788. 

Prince, L. Bradford : Historical Sketches of New Mexico. 

Powers, Laura Bride : The Missions of California. 

Powers, Stephen : The Indians of California (in the Annual Report of 
the Bureau of Ethnology). 

Putnam : Archaeology of the Pueblos. 

Robinson, Alfred : Life in California. 

Stephen, A. M. : Adobes and the Pueblo Indians. 

Shinn, Charles Howard : Pioneer Spanish Families in California, Cen- 
tury, XIX. Articles in the Magazine of American History. Vari- 
ous magazine articles. 

Vaca, Cabeza de : Relation, translated by Buckingham Smith, edition 
of 1871. 

Vallejo, Guadalupe : Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California, Cen- 
tury, XIX. 

Vancouver, Captain George: A Voyage of Discovery to the North 
Pacific Ocean and round the World, 1790-1795. 

Venegas : A Natural and Civil History of California. 

Winship, George Parker: Why Coronado went to New Mexico in 1540 
(Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1894). 
The Coronado Expedition, 1 540-1 542 (Report of the Bureau of 
Ethnology, 1 892-1 893). 
Winsor, Justin: Narrative and Critical History of America. 



MAR21 1903 



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